Utilization of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peels waste as a natural dye

Dragon fruit has many functions and benefits for the health of both the fruit and the skin. One of the waste products of dragon fruit that has not been fully utilized is the skin of the red dragon fruit. The anthocyanin pigment that gives color to the red dragon fruit is found in the peel. Maltodextrin encapsulation is one of the methods used to preserve anthocyanin pigments. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to make anthocyanin powder from the skin of the red dragon fruit using the encapsulation method as a food coloring and to ensure an ideal concentration of maltodextrin for the physical and chemical properties of the powder. The experimental design used a one factor Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with the addition of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% maltodextrin concentrations. Analysis of the product involves measurements of color saturation, yield, water content, and total anthocyanin. The outcomes demonstrated that the chosen powder from the four treatments was obtained with the addition of maltodextrin at a concentration of 30% with a color intensity of 58.45 L*, color a* of 11.77, color b* of 15.53, yield of 50.344%, water content of 7.847% and total anthocyanin of 148.240 ppm.