Amaranth

Product Description

 
Name : Amaranth
Synonyms:C.I.16185;FD&CRedNo.2;AcidRed27;Trisodium3-hydroxy-4-(4-sulfonato-1-naphthylazo)-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonate  
 
Molecular Formula :C20H11N2Na3O10S3
Molecular Weight :604.47
CAS Registry Number :915-67-3
EINECS :213-022-2
 
Amaranth, FD&C Red No. 2, E123, C.I. Food Red 9, Acid Red 27, Azorubin S, or C.I. 16185, is a dark red to purple azo dye once used as a food dye and to color cosmetics, but since 1976 it has been banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it is a suspected carcinogen. The FDA showed a significant increase in cancer among aged female rats that had been fed large doses of the dye. Alexander Schmidt of the FDA stated that the FDA found "no evidence of a public health hazard". It usually comes as a trisodium salt. It has the appearance of reddish-brown, dark red to purple water-soluble powder that decomposes at 120°C without melting. Its water solution has absorption maximum at about 520 nm.[citation needed] Amaranth is made from coal tar. Amaranth is an anionic dye. It can be applied to natural and synthetic fibers, leather, paper, and phenol-formaldehyde resins. As a food additive it has E number E123.