Annatto

{{Short description|Orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} [[File:Bixa orellana fruit open.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Open fruit of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), showing the seeds from which annatto is extracted]]

'''Annatto''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|n|æ|t|oʊ}} or {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|n|ɑː|t|oʊ}}) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropical parts of the Americas.<ref name="cabi">{{cite web |title=''Bixa orellana'' (annatto) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/9242 |publisher=CABI |access-date=14 October 2018 |date=27 September 2018}}</ref> It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and its flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet, and peppery".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/annatto.html |title=Encyclopedia of Spices |publisher=TheEpicentre.com |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110716234316/http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/annatto.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref>

The color of annatto comes from various carotenoid pigments, mainly bixin and norbixin, found in the reddish waxy coating of the seeds. The condiment is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Similar effects can be obtained by extracting some of the color and flavor principles from the seeds with hot water, oil, or lard, which are then added to the food.<ref>{{cite web |last= Smith |first= James |title= Annatto Extracts |work= Chemical and Technical Assessment |publisher= JECFA |year= 2006 |url= http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agns/pdf/jecfa/cta/67/annatto.pdf |access-date= 3 February 2012 }}</ref>

Annatto and its extracts are now widely used artisanally and industrially as a coloring agent in many processed food products, such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter and margarine, custards, cakes and other baked goods, potatoes, snack foods, breakfast cereals, smoked fish, and sausages. In these uses, annatto is a natural alternative to synthetic food coloring compounds, but it has been linked to rare cases of food-related allergies.<ref name=WAOJ /> Annatto is of particular commercial value in the United States because the Food and Drug Administration considers colorants derived from it to be "exempt of certification".

== History == [[File:Tsachila.jpg|thumb|A Tsáchila man, with his hair colored with annatto]] The annatto tree ''B. orellana'' is believed to originate in tropical regions from Mexico to Brazil.<ref name=cabi /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indio.net/taino/main/remedio/bija.htm |title=Bija – Achiote |publisher=Indio.net |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724104743/http://www.indio.net/taino/main/remedio/bija.htm |archive-date=24 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was probably not initially used as a food additive, but for other purposes, such as ritual and decorative body painting (still an important tradition in many Brazilian native tribes, such as the Wari'), sunscreen, insect repellent, and for medical purposes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.getjamaica.com/Jamaican%20Annato.asp |title=Jamaican Annatto |publisher=GetJamaica.com |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711090828/http://www.getjamaica.com/Jamaican%20Annato.asp |archive-date=11 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Nigel J.H. |title=Geography of Crop Plants |work=Geo 3315, Lecture Notes: Part 2 |publisher=Department of Geography, University of Florida |year=2005 |url=http://www.geog.ufl.edu/courses/Fall_Syllabus/3315Part2.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070922113838/http://www.geog.ufl.edu/courses/Fall_Syllabus/3315Part2.pdf |archive-date= 22 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Lovera |first= José Rafael |title= Food Culture in South America |publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group |series= Food Culture Around the World |year= 2005 |page= [https://archive.org/details/foodcultureinsou0000love/page/51 51] |url= https://archive.org/details/foodcultureinsou0000love |url-access= registration |quote= annatto venezuela onoto. |isbn= 978-0-313-32752-0 |access-date= 24 August 2011 }}</ref> It was used for Mexican manuscript painting in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v16/bp16-05.html |title=Colorants Used During Mexico's Early Colonial Period |publisher= Stanford University |year=1997 |access-date=24 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080320051026/http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v16/bp16-05.html| archive-date=20 March 2008| url-status= live}}</ref> Men of the Tsàchila tribe in Ecuador are highly recognizable thanks to their traditional bright orange hair, which is achieved by using crushed seeds of annatto. It is believed{{by whom|date=February 2026}} they have been doing so for centuries.

Annatto has been traditionally used as both a coloring and flavoring agent in various cuisines from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and other countries where it was taken home by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers in the 16th century.<ref name="cabi" /> It has various local names according to region.<ref name="cabi" /> Its use has spread in historic times to other parts of the world, and it was incorporated in local culinary traditions of many countries outside the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philippinesinsider.com/filipino-cuisine/common-spices-in-modern-philippine-recipes/ |title=Common Spices in Modern Philippine Recipes |publisher=PhilippinesInsider.com |access-date= 24 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110715075231/http://www.philippinesinsider.com/filipino-cuisine/common-spices-in-modern-philippine-recipes/ |archive-date= 15 July 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref>

== Culinary uses == {{Cookbook}}{{more citations needed section|date=October 2023}}

=== Traditional cuisine === Ground annatto seeds, often mixed with other seeds or spices, are used in the form of paste or powder for culinary use, especially in Latin American, Jamaican, Belizean, Chamorro, Vietnamese, and Filipino cuisines. In Mexican and Belizean cuisines, it is used to make the spice ''recado rojo''. In Venezuela, annatto is used in the preparation of ''hallacas, huevos pericos'', and other traditional dishes. In Puerto Rico, it is often simmered in oil or ground with seasonings and herbs to make ''sazón'' or used to make ''pasteles'', ''arroz con gandules'', and several other dishes, where it is one of the main ingredients. Annatto paste is an important ingredient of ''cochinita pibil'', the slow-roasted pork dish popular in Mexico. It is also a key ingredient in the drink ''tascalate'' from Chiapas, Mexico. In the Philippines, it is used for the sauce of ''pancit palabok''. In Guam, it is used to make a staple rice dish flavored with annatto, onion, garlic, butter, and other spices.

<!-- In earlier times, the seeds of the plant were also used as a staple food in South and Central America. Today, an Inca recipe for beer made from cocoa, chilli, honey and annatto is available again. The recipe dates back to 1200 BC and was briefly marketed in North America under the trade name Dogfish Head Theobroma. In the prehistory and early history of South and Central America, the pure, soaked annatto seed was fermented with 5% honey for 10 days and sometimes used as a sole foodstuff. The continent's universities have now recognised the high nutrient content of the seed and are researching ways to reintroduce annatto as a foodstuff. However, practical solutions that would guarantee a basic food supply from the wild harvest have not yet been taken up again by the population. -->

=== Industrial food coloring === [[File:Colby Cheese.jpg|thumb|Colby cheese colored with annatto]] Annatto is commonly used to impart a yellow or orange color to many industrialized and semi-industrialized foods, including cheese, ice cream, bakery products, desserts, fruit fillings, yogurt, butter, oils, margarines, processed cheese, and fat-based products.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8zJBQuc8h4C&q=annatto&pg=PA318 |title=Food Colorants: Chemical and Functional Properties |last=Socaciu |first=Carmen |date=2007-10-24 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-0928-6 |language=en}}</ref> In the United States, annatto extract is listed as a color additive "exempt from certification"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=7c8fe69fb583b3d1e9ce089e8facbb7e&mc=true&node=se21.1.73_130&rgn=div8 |title=CFR Title 21 |publisher= U.S. FDA |date=1 April 2011 |access-date=24 August 2011}}</ref> and is informally considered to be a natural coloring. Foods colored with annatto may declare the coloring in the statement of ingredients as "colored with annatto" or "annatto color".<ref>{{cite web |title=21CFR101.22 |work=Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, Volume 2 |publisher=FDA |date=1 April 2011 |url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030224200253/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?FR=101.22 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 February 2003 |access-date=7 March 2012 }}</ref> In the European Union, it is identified by the E number E160b.

==== Cheese ==== In cheese, the yellow and orange hues naturally vary throughout the year as the cow's feed changes: in the summer, with fresh grass and its natural carotene content, the milk produced would have a natural orange tint, as would the cheese made from it, while at other times of the year, the tint would be greatly reduced. As the pigment is carried in the cream, skimming the milk, which some farmers did to make butter or to sell it separately, the lesser-quality cheese from such milk would be white.<ref name="NPR" /><ref name="nrc.nl">{{cite news |last1=Voormolen |first1=Sander |title=Waarom is die kaas zo geel? |work=NRC |language=nl |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/05/30/kaas-is-niet-zomaar-geel-1624570-a474233 |access-date=31 May 2021 |date=30 May 2016}}</ref>

To fool the consumer, the cheesemakers introduced colorants to imitate the more intense colors of the finer summer cheese. Initially these colors came from saffron, marigold, and carrot juice, but later annatto came into use.<ref name="NPR" />

In the 17th century, the Dutch, who had established colonies in Guyana, traded in food, particularly an orange-red natural colorant, annatto, with the indigenous communities. Zeeland traders under the authority of the West India Company bought annatto from the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Guyana and Suriname and sold it in the Netherlands as ''verw'' ('paint'). One contemporaneous description comes from Adriaen van Berkel, in a book published in 1695, though he does not mention whether it was used in cheese.<ref name="nrc.nl" />

The earliest known documentation of annatto's use in cheese is in a 1743 Dutch volume {{Lang|nl|Huishoudelyk Woordboek}} (''Household Dictionary''), according to American scientist Paul Kindstedt of the University of Vermont. Other historical documents from the period confirm that annatto (then called "orleaan" or "orleans") was being used to color cheese by the mid-18th century.<ref name="nrc.nl" />

England is another country that has used annatto to color its cheeses; colorants have been added to Gloucester cheese as early as the 16th century to allow inferior cheese to masquerade as the best Double Gloucester, with annatto later being used for that purpose. This usage was subsequently adopted in other parts of the UK, for cheeses such as Cheshire and Red Leicester, as well as colored Cheddar made in Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcheese.com/doublegloucester |title=British Cheese Board |publisher=BritishCheese.com |access-date=24 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110726112327/http://www.britishcheese.com/doublegloucester| archive-date= 26 July 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="NPR">{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/11/07/243733126/how-17th-century-fraud-gave-rise-to-bright-orange-cheese |first=Allison |last=Aubrey |title=How 17th Century Fraud Gave Rise To Bright Orange Cheese |work=The Salt |publisher=NPR |date=7 November 2013 |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> Many cheddars are produced in both white and red (orange) varieties, the only difference between the two being the presence of annatto as a coloring.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyedge.ie/red-cheddar-is-a-lie-2226128-Jul2015 |title='Sorry Ireland: 'Red cheddar' doesn't really exist' |date=20 July 2015 |publisher=DailyEdge.ie |access-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725153602/http://www.dailyedge.ie/red-cheddar-is-a-lie-2226128-Jul2015/ |archive-date= 25 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> That practice has extended to many modern processed cheese products, such as American cheese and Velveeta. Cheeses from other countries also use annatto, including Mimolette from France and Leyden from the Netherlands.

Cheeses that use annatto in at least some preparations include: {{Columns-list|colwidth=15em| * Cheddar (UK)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77iUPr1ySkcC&q=annatto&pg=PA82|title=The Cheesemaker's Apprentice: An Insider's Guide to the Art and Craft of Homemade Artisan Cheese, Taught by the Masters|last1=Davies|first1=Sasha|last2=Bleckmann|first2=David|date=2012-10-01|publisher=Quarry Books|isbn=978-1-59253-755-6|language=en|quote=The coloring additive that gives Cheddars that orange color is called annatto}}</ref> * Cheshire (UK)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/miamispicenewflo00raic|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/miamispicenewflo00raic/page/332 332]|title=Miami Spice: The New Florida Cuisine|last=Raichlen|first=Steven|date=1993-01-11|publisher=Workman Publishing|isbn=978-1-56305-346-7|language=en|quote=The seed is traditionally used to color Leicester and Cheshire cheeses.}}</ref> * Colby (US)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvRuXfMEZGkC&q=annatto&pg=PT174|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheese Making|last=Leverentz|first=James R.|date=2010-05-04|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-19782-0|language=en|quote=Colby cheese gets its distinctive color from the addition of annatto coloring.}}</ref> * Gloucester (UK)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMxFAAAAYAAJ&q=gloucester&pg=PA186|title=Proceedings of the Annual Meeting|last=Society|first=New York State Agricultural|date=1859|language=en|quote=In Cheshire, one pound of good annatto is deemed sufficient for a ton of cheese; in Gloucester double that quantity is used.}}</ref> * Leyden (Netherlands)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1WuifJuVavEC&q=annatto&pg=PA112|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheeses of the World: A Tasteful Guide to Selecting, Serving, and Enjoying Cheese|last1=Hurt|first1=Jeanette|last2=Ehlers|first2=Steve|date=2008-04-01|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4406-3618-9|language=en |quote=Made in and around the university city of Leiden, this Gouda-like cheese is colored with annatto}}</ref> * Livarot (France)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y258scH5bZIC&q=annatto|title=Travels in Normandy|last1=Elsy|first1=Mary|last2=Norman|first2=Jill|date=1988|publisher=Merehurst Press|isbn=978-1-85391-003-6|language=en|quote=The colour comes from brushing with an annatto solution.}}</ref> * Mimolette (France)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRrGDQAAQBAJ&q=annatto&pg=PA483|title=The Oxford Companion to Cheese|date=2016-10-25|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-933090-4|language=en|quote=Mimolette curds are then colored with annatto}}</ref> * Mont des Cats (France)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-library/abbaye-du-mont-des-cats|title=Culture: The Word on Cheese|website=culturecheesemag.com|access-date=2019-10-28|quote=They're also dyed with roucou, a natural red dye derived from the seeds of the annatto shrub.}}</ref> * Muenster (US)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=039ZCwAAQBAJ&q=muenster&pg=PR43|title=The Complete Book on Spices & Condiments|last=Engineers|first=NIIR Board of Consultants &|date=2006-04-01|publisher=ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS PRESS Inc.|isbn=9788178330389|language=en|quote=In Europe, annatto extract is used to color butter, margarine, ice cream, sausages and many cheese including red Cheddar, Muenster, Livarot and Leicester.}}</ref> * Red Leicester (UK)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRrGDQAAQBAJ&q=annatto&pg=PA610|title=The Oxford Companion to Cheese|date=2016-10-25|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-933090-4|language=en|quote=In all forms, Red Leicester has a distinct reddish-orange color derived from the addition of annatto, a naturally occurring food colorant.}}</ref> * Saint Paulin (France)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/food-calories/substance/saint-blank-paulin-coma-and-blank-semi-soft-blank-washed-blank-rind-blank-cheese-coma-and-blank-upc-column--blank-217831909437|title=SAINT PAULIN SEMI-SOFT WASHED RIND CHEESE|website=www.aqua-calc.com|language=en|access-date=2019-10-28|quote=Ingredients ... RIND CONTAINS ANNATTO (COLOR)}}</ref> * Shropshire Blue (UK)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yyyCDwAAQBAJ&q=annatto&pg=PT437|title=Sheridans' Guide to Cheese: A Guide to High-Quality Artisan Farmhouse Cheeses|last1=Sheridan|first1=Kevin|last2=Sheridan|first2=Seamus|date=2016-05-03|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-63220-777-7|language=en|quote=paste coloured orange red with annatto}}</ref> }}

== Chemical composition == [[File:bixin.png|thumb|right|300px|Bixin, the major apocarotenoid of annatto<ref name="ntp">{{cite web|url=https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/bixin_508.pdf |title=Executive Summary Bixin |work= National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences |publisher=National Institutes of Health |date=Nov 1997 |access-date=24 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721055506/http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/?objectid=F59ACAC5-F1F6-975E-7C563568F5F7351B| archive-date= 21 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>]]

The yellow to orange color is produced by the chemical compounds bixin and norbixin, which are classified as carotenoids. The fat-soluble color in the crude extract is called bixin, which can then be saponified into water-soluble norbixin. This dual solubility property of annatto is rare for carotenoids.<ref>{{cite web |last1= Smith |first1= James |first2= Harriet |last2=Wallin |title= Annatto Extracts: Chemical and Technical Assessment |publisher= FAO |year= 2006 |url= http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/agns/pdf/jecfa/cta/67/annatto.pdf |access-date= 10 June 2013 }}</ref> The seeds contain 4.5–5.5% pigment, which consists of 70–80% bixin.<ref name="ntp" /> Unlike beta-carotene, another well-known carotenoid, annatto-based pigments are not vitamin A precursors.<ref>{{cite web |last= Kuntz |first= Lynn A. |title= Natural Colors: A Shade More Healthy |work= Food Product Design |publisher= Virgo Publishing, LLC |date= 4 August 2008 |url= http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/2008/08/natural-colors-a-shade-more-healthy.aspx | access-date= 26 January 2013 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131217095729/http://www.foodproductdesign.com/articles/2008/08/natural-colors-a-shade-more-healthy.aspx | archive-date = 2013-12-17}}</ref> The more norbixin in an annatto preparation, the more yellow it is; a higher level of bixin gives it a more orange hue.

== Safety == Annatto condiments and colorants are safe for most people when used in food amounts, but they may cause allergic reactions in those who are sensitive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-23-ANNATTO.aspx?activeIngredientId=23&activeIngredientName=ANNATTO |title=Annatto: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings |publisher=WebMD |date=30 July 1999 |access-date=24 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Magee |first=Elaine |url=http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2010/07/whats-up-with-food-dyes.html |title=What's Up With Food Dyes? |work=Healthy Recipe Doctor |publisher=WebMD |date=9 July 2010 |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803170020/http://blogs.webmd.com/healthy-recipe-doctor/2010/07/whats-up-with-food-dyes.html |archive-date=3 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In one 1978 study of 61 patients with chronic hives or angioedema, 56 patients were orally provoked by annatto extract during an elimination diet. A challenge was performed with a dose equivalent to the amount used in {{convert|25|g|oz|frac=8|abbr=off}} of butter. Twenty-six percent of the patients reacted to this color four hours after intake, worse than synthetic dyes, such as amaranth (9%), tartrazine (11%), sunset yellow FCF (17%), allura red AC (16%), ponceau 4R (15%), erythrosine (12%) and brilliant blue FCF (14%).<ref>{{cite book |pmid=150265 |year=1978 |last1=Mikkelsen |first1=H |last2=Larsen |first2=JC |last3=Tarding |first3=F |title=Toxicological Aspects of Food Safety |chapter=Hypersensitivity Reactions to Food Colours with Special Reference to the Natural Colour Annatto Extract (Butter Colour) |issue=1 |pages=141–3 |series=Archives of Toxicology. Supplement |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-66896-8_16 |isbn=978-3-540-08646-8 |volume=1}}</ref>

Annatto is not among the "Big Eight" substances causing hypersensitivity reactions which are responsible for more than 90% of food related allergic reactions.<ref name=WAOJ>{{cite journal |doi=10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181c5be33 |title=An Allergy to Goldfish? Highlighting Labeling Laws for Food Additives |year=2009 |last1=Myles |first1=Ian A. |last2=Beakes |first2=Douglas |journal=World Allergy Organization Journal |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=314–316 |pmid=20076772 |pmc=2805955}}</ref> The US FDA and experts at the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) of the University of Nebraska do not include annatto in the list of major food allergens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allergenonline.org/databasebrowse.shtml |title=AllergenOnline Database |publisher=University of Nebraska-Lincoln |access-date= 3 February 2012}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |last1=Allsop |first1=Michael |last2=Heal |first2=Carolyn |title=Cooking With Spices |publisher=David & Charles |location=Vermont, US |year=1983}} * {{cite book| last1= Lauro| first1=Gabriel J. |last2=Francis | first2=F. Jack | year=2000| title= Natural Food Colorants Science and Technology | series=IFT Basic Symposium Series | location= New York | publisher=Marcel Dekker}} * {{cite book|last=Lust|first=John|title=The Herb Book|publisher=Bantam Books|location=New York|year=1984}} * {{cite book |last=Rosengarten Jr. |first=F. |title=The Book of Spices |publisher=Livingston Publishing Co. |location=Pennsylvania, US |year=1969}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Annatto}} * {{cookbook-inline|Annatto}} * [http://www.fao.org/docrep/v8879e/v8879e04.htm Major Colorants and Dyestuffs Entering International Trade, Annatto Seed and Its Extracts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208003753/http://www.fao.org/docrep/V8879E/v8879e04.htm |date=8 February 2019 }} from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization

{{Herbs & spices}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Food science Category:Food colorings Category:Plant dyes Category:Spices Category:Natural history of the Americas Category:Culture of the Americas Category:History of cosmetics Category:E-number additives Category:Bixaceae