Currently, there are some examples of natural colourants with commercial use. However, these colourants are usually under-exploited, besides being obtained from a reduced number of plant or algal species. Accordingly, we propose using betalains obtained from an alternative plant species, Gomphrena globosa, which have a powerful colouring activity besides being strong antioxidants, as a novel ice-cream colourant. For comparison purposes, other ice-cream formulations were prepared, namely without colourants, added with commercial betalain or with Beta vulgaris extract. Besides evaluating the colour parameters L*, a* and b*, the nutritional parameters, individual sugars and fatty acids profiles were also studied. These parameters were evaluated throughout time, up to a maximum of 60 days of freeze (−22 °C) storage. Betacyanin quantification of each formulation was also performed to determine its maintenance along storage. In general, ice-creams prepared with G. globosa were similar (considering nutritional, colour, individual sugars and fatty acids profiles) to those including B. vulgaris extract, thereby validating the suitability of this alternative plant as a source of food colourants, particularly as ice-cream colourants. Furthermore, the positive effects induced by the addition of this natural colourant were maintained throughout storage time, as indicated by the markers distribution in the linear discriminant analysis.

当前，有一些商业上使用的天然着色剂的例子。然而，这些着色剂除了从减少数量的植物或藻类物种中获得之外，通常未被充分利用。因此，我们建议使用从替代植物物种Gomphrena globosa获得的甜菜碱作为新型冰淇淋着色剂，该植物除具有强的抗氧化剂外，还具有强大的着色活性。为了进行比较，制备了其他冰淇淋配方，即不添加色素，添加商业甜菜碱或甜菜提取物。除了评估颜色参数L *，a *和b*，还研究了营养参数，单个糖和脂肪酸谱。这些参数在整个过程中进行了评估，最多可存储60天（-22°C）的冻结时间。还对每种制剂的花青素进行了定量，以确定其在储存过程中的维持率。总的来说，用球状芽孢杆菌制备的冰淇淋与包括普通芽孢杆菌的冰淇淋相似（考虑到营养，颜色，单个糖和脂肪酸的特性）。提取物，从而验证这种替代植物是否适合用作食品着色剂，尤其是冰淇淋着色剂。此外，如线性判别分析中的标记分布所表明的，在整个存储时间内都保持了添加这种天然着色剂所引起的积极作用。