Enhanced Yield of Food Colourant Annatto from Seeds of Bixa orellana L.: The Efficacy of Polyamines Floral Spray

Annatto is one of the important natural food
colourant widely used in dairy industry. The efficiency of
polyamines on augmentation of annatto pigment production
in field cultivated Bixa orellana L. (Achiote) crop has
been investigated. Analysis of annatto pigment profile in
seeds of harvested fruits indicates an increase in annatto
pigment content upon foliar treatment with the three
polyamines viz, putrescine, spermidine and spermine over
the untreated control plants. The augmentation of total
pigment level was in the range of 16–72, 27.9–83.7 and
34.5–70.79 % for floral spray of spermidine, spermine and
putrescine respectively over that of water sprayed control
flowers of B. orellana plant. Similarly, bixin content
was 20.9–69, 36.2–56.15, 45.72–65.32 % for spermidine,
spermine and putrescine respectively over control flowers
of Bixa plant. The best response for enhanced annatto
pigment content (4.17 %) at 60 days after flowering and
bixin (3.54 %) was evident with 2.5 lM of spermine
treatment, next best being 1 lM of putrescine. This ensures
polyamines as an agriculturally important phytochemical,
which is an easily adoptable methodology for enhancing
annatto pigment yield in the standing crop, for commercial
purposes.