Effect of five polyphenols on the stability of purple cabbage anthocyanins in simulated beverage systems containing L-ascorbic acid

Purple cabbage shows great potential as a natural colorant source for commercial beverages due to its high anthocyanin content and wide availability. However, the application of purple cabbage anthocyanins in the food industry is limited by its unstable characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 0.4% concentration of catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, vanillin, gallic acid (GA), and rosmarinic acid on the stability of purple cabbage anthocyanins in beverage systems. The results showed that all five polyphenols increased the color intensity of anthocyanins and the copigmentation effect increased with the increased polyphenol. Five polyphenols were observed to enhance the color and thermal stability of anthocyanins in beverage systems, while GA performed best. The addition of GA to the beverage systems achieved a greater improvement in color stability regarding absorbance value (increased by 247.70%) and total color change (decreased by 70.34%). In addition, degradation kinetic reaction showed the lowest k (0.0466 1/d) and highest t1/2 (14.87 d) for anthocyanin degradation with GA addition. This study provides a potential solution to enhance anthocyanin stability and extend beverage shelf life through GA addition.