Efficacy of ascorbic acid and sugar as photo protectants of anthocyanin in grape waste products

Anthocyanin (ACN), a potent antioxidant is gaining momentum in the recent days, in terms of nutraceutical foods for therapeutic application. One of the major constraints in converting this pigment into a nutraceutical product is by maintaining its stability under light, hence, the food industries generally employ light-protective packaging to inhibit. To achieve, stability of ACN under visible light spectrum, its’ imperative to use photo protectants This critical need to elucidate strategies for preserving ACNs against light-induced degradation formed the basis of the current investigation. Therefore, this research was undertaken, to study the influence of the photo protectants, such as ascorbic acid and sugar at varying concentrations in preventing degradation of ACN extracted from grapes processing wastes. The study proved that the addition of ascorbic acid (0.05 %) and sugar (10 %) significantly enhanced ACN stability, retaining 60 % of its content post exposure to light in comparison to the control.