Enzymatic acylation of anthocyanins extracted from food waste for advantageous, high-value industrial application in cosmetics and food (AnthoLip)

Keracol is a highly innovative small company developing natural chemical technologies. This project is a

collaborative feasibility study with The University of Porto (UoP) to develop international cooperation

and initiate novel approaches to produce more stable and oil-soluble natural colorants for food and

cosmetic applications. Keracol extracts natural pigments from food waste (berry skins), we aim to use the

expertise of UoP to develop new methods for step-change applications. This is a challenging project due to

the complex chemistry of natural colorants. More stable anthocyanins able to be incorporated into oil-

based media are needed and novel methods developed by UoP could prove the most effective strategy to

achieve this. Food and cosmetic colorants are multi-billion dollar industries, and applications represent

significant value. Few researchers are working on this type of chemistry globally, and an opportunity to

develop this area with UoP would be step-changing for Keracol.