anthocyanin
/ˌanθə(ʊ)ˈsʌɪənɪn
/noun [mass noun] Chemistry
A blue, violet, or red flavonoid pigment found in plants: the earliest carrots were purple, because they contained anthocyanin...
- As well as a high content of carotene, the same substance that gives carrots and egg yolks their distinctive colour, these oranges develop a red pigment, anthocyanin, which gives their flesh its hue.
- Beech trees have more of a red pigment called anthocyanin and birch trees have more carotene which turns leaves yellow.
- The pigment, anthocyanin, is normally turned off during the growing season, but the researchers inserted a gene that turns on this colour-making process in the presence of nitrogen dioxide.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from German Anthocyan, from Greek anthos 'flower' + kuanos 'blue' + -in1.