International Journal of Fermented Foods

The main criterion for food selection is colour. Colours of the commercial products play a vital role to attract the consumers and also represent the quality of the products. Some synthetic colours are detrimental to human health and hence food industry is looking for natural pigment. Rhodotorula is a carotenoid biosynthetic yeast producing yellow or orange red colonies. The carotenoid pigment extracted from Rhodotorula minuta grown in coconut water as natural medium incubated at 30°C for 3–5 days period showed stability at acidic, neutral and alkaline P^H. Heating the pigment to lab pasteurization (63°C/30min), boiling (100°C/10min) and sterilization (121°C/15min) reduced the intensity of extra and intracellular pigment by 15 to 20 per cent. Out of both intracellular behaved better than extracellular pigment of Rhodotorula minuta.