Potential use of bixin beyond function as a natural colourant in food and cosmetics

Bixin is a carotenoid found in the covering of Bixa orellana seeds and widely used as a dye, mainly in food products and cosmetics. This compound is insoluble in water, but technologies have been developed for its use in aqueous preparations, as well as a component for new formulations to disperse other lipophilic ingredients. It has recently aroused the interest of researchers in areas such as Pharmacology, Endocrinology and Oncology, but also new applications in Food Technology. This work aimed to review the main studies in the period from 1911 to 2023, but we emphasised aspects in technologies related to the field of health such as Pharmacology and Pharmacy. We used 'bixin' as a keyword to search for articles on the Web of Science and obtained 488 results, most of which were original articles and 20 were reviews. The analysis demonstrated a continuing large number of studies in Food Technology, but a rapid growth in areas related to health aspects.