摘要：The natural coloring matter (blue color) produced from an aqueous extract of gardenia fruits (Gardenia augusta MERR.) and the decomposed protein was found to be of a mean molecular weight of 15600±400, based on the measurements of the osmotic pressure. The absorption from the gastrointestinal tract of this natural coloring matter was examined by testing the stability of the color in the gastrointestinal tract, by observing the absorption, both in vitro and in situ, and by conducting histopathological examinations of the gastrointestinal tract and other related organs in mice which had received the color for five months. The results showed that the color was very stable at the pH levels of the gastrointestinal tract and in the presence of digestive enzymes and enterococci. No evidence of the gastrointestinal absorption was obtained.
