Carthamus Yellow is a water-soluble natural dye obtained from Safflower flower flowers (Carthamus tinctorius), whose major active component is Safflower Yellow, present at a concentration range of 85-92% of the total extract. According to a 2021 study in Food Chemistry, 1.2-1.8 kg of Carthamus Yellow can be extracted per ton of dried safflower petals, and the extraction efficiency is significantly affected by pH value (5.0-6.5) and temperature (50-65℃), and the total flavonoids yield can reach 94.3% under optimal conditions. The pigment is widely used in the food industry. For example, according to China’s market data in 2022, Carthamus Yellow held 7.5% of the natural food coloring market share, and the growth rate of demand was 12.4% annually, 60% of which was used in beverage coloring (e.g., 98% stability when pH of functional beverages was 3.5-4.5). 30% for baked foods (high temperature resistance at 180℃ retention rate more than 90%). India and China are the major producers in the supply chain in the world, and the cultivation area of safflower in Gujarat, India, will be 120,000 hectares in 2023 and produce about 450 tons per year of Carthamus Yellow raw materials, taking 34% market share in the global supply.
From the perspective of production procedure, industrial extraction of Carthamus Yellow mainly employs supercritical CO2 extraction technology. The pressure of equipment is 25-30 MPa, the temperature is kept at 45-55℃, and the remaining solvent can be lowered to below 0.5 ppm. Conforming to the European Union EFSA regulation for food additives (EC No 1333/2008). A breakdown in costs showed the process costs between $220-280 per kilogram of Carthamus Yellow to produce, with end-products (such as powder preparations) available on the market for between $450-600, with gross margins of about 45% to 55%. In 2020, China Morning Light Biotechnology Group optimized enzyme-membrane separation coupling technology, which elevated the purity of safflower yellow pigment to 96% from 88%, enhanced the bioavailability by 22%, and successfully obtained GRAS certification issued by FDA, and its 2022 financial report showed that the category revenue increased 37% year over year and contributed 19% of the company’s entire natural pigment business profit. In addition, safflower yellow pigment also has good prospects in medicine: Clinical experiments proved that 50 mg daily intake of safflower could reduce fasting blood glucose in patients with diabetes by 12.7% and serum level of the inflammatory mediator IL-6 by 18.4%, the relevant article was published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2023.
The safety evaluation of Carthamus Yellow found that its median lethal dose (LD50) was greater than 10 g/kg (oral in rats) and that it was not toxic in the European Union Allowable daily intake (ADI) of 0-5 mg/kg body weight. According to the 2021 global sampling data, the qualification rate of commercially available safflower yellow pigment products is 89.3%, and the main problem is that the pigment content deviation is more than ±15% (accounting for 72% of unqualified samples). It must be understood that safflower cultivation is climatically sensitive and, in drought periods (annual rainfall <400 mm), the concentration of safflower can be increased by 18%-25%, while per unit production can decrease by 30% owing to the fluctuation in raw material prices between 20%-35%. Now, the industry is at the forefront of gene editing to improve varieties, such as the 2023 Plant Research International Netherlands drought-tolerant safflower line that increased its Carthamus Yellow yield density by 40% and reduced the planting period to 90 days. It is projected to increase the world’s production capacity to 6,500 tons a year, serving projected market demand of $820 million by 2030 (Grand View Research projection, CAGR 8.9%).