ROSEANTHOCYANINSASACID

BASEINDICATORS

pH/Acid Base Indicators

A pH indicator is halochromic chemical compound that is added in small amounts to a

solution so that the pH (acidity or basicity) of the solution can be determined visually. OR

ApHindicatorisachemicaldetectorforhydronium ions(H3O+)orhydrogenions(H+).

ItcanalsobesaidthatpHindicatorchangescolordependingonwhethertheydonateor
acceptproton(acidsareprotondonorsandbasesareprotonacceptors).

Theindicatorcausesthe color ofthesolutiontochangedependingonthepH.

pH Indicator

Nature

pH indicators are themselves acids or

bases.
A pH indicator is just a weak acid with
differently colored acid and conjugate
base forms.

Uses

Main use of indicator is to test whether a

solution is acidic or basic.
pH indicators are frequently employed in
titrations in analytical chemistry and
biology to determine the extent of a
chemical reaction.

pH indicator Sources

Artificial

Manyartificialacidbaseindicatorsina
chemicallaboratoryhavebeeninuse
whicharemadesynthetically.

phenolphthalein:colorlessinacidic
solution,pinkinbasicsolution

bromothymol blue:yellowinacidic
solution,blueinbasicsolution

Natural

plantpigmentscanactasacidbase
indicators.

Manyflowers,fruitsandvegetables
containchemicalsubstancesthatchange
colorinsolutionsofdifferentpH.

acidorbasenaturalindicator,suchas
hibiscus,turmeric,redcabbage,andsome
otherkindsofplants.

Plant pigments as acid-base indicators

Manyindicatorshavebeenextractedfromplants.

Willstatterin1913,isolatedandextensivelystudiedblueandredpigmentsofflowers.

Apples,autumnleaves,roses,strawberries,andcranberryjuiceappearred.

Blueberries,cornflowersappearblue.

Grapes,blackberriesandredcabbageappearpurple.

Allthesecolorduetothepresenceofcyanidin basedcolorantmolecules.

Natural Indicators

Manynaturallycoloredcompoundscanbehaveasacidbaseindicators.
Alizarin
Isanorangedyepresentintherootofthemadderplant;itwasusedtodyewoolin
ancientEgypt,Persia,andIndia.
Inan0.5%alcoholsolution,alizarinisyellowatpH5.5andredatpH6.8.
Cochineal
Isanacidbaseindicatormadefromthebodiesofdriedfemalecochinealinsects,found
inMexicoandCentralAmerica.
Curcumin orTurmericyellow
Isanaturaldyefoundincurrypowder.ItturnsfromyellowatpH7.4toredatpH8.6.
Litmus,Esculin andlogwoodandaveryimportantgroupcalledanthocyanin isplantbased
indicators.
HereroleofAnthocyanin willbediscussedwiththecaseofFlowerRosarosa commonly
knownasrose(red).

Anthocyanins

Anthocyanins areversatileandplentifulflavonoid pigmentsfoundinred/purplishfruitsand

vegetables,includingpurplecabbage,beets,blueberries,cherries,raspberriesandpurple
grapes.

Withintheplanttheyserveaskeyantioxidantsandpigmentscontributingtothecoloration
offlowers.

Anthocyanins occurinallhigherplants,mostlyinflowersandfruitsbutalsoinleaves,stems,
androots.Inthesepartstheyarefoundpredominantlyinoutercelllayers.

Anthocyanins arewatersolublestrongcolorsandhavebeenusedtocolorfoodsince
historicaltimes.

Anthocyanins

Anthocyanins arepHdependent.Whentheaciditychanges,thecolorchanges.

Forexamplethecolorofredcabbageisenhancedwiththeadditionofvinegarorotheracid.

Whencookedinaluminumpans,whichcauseamorealkalineenvironment,thecolor
changestopurpleandblue.

Theextractswhentreatedwithalkaliturngreenandshowagreaterabsorbanceintherange
575625nmdependingupontheflowersused.

Flower color as indicators

Theflowerscontainanthocyanin pigmentswhosecolor dependsonpH;thereforetheyare

usedaspHindicators.

Economicuseofthepigmentsofsomecommonflowersasacid/alkaliindicatorshavebeen
shownbyusingcommonflowerslikeHibiscusrosasinensis,Ipomoeafistulosa andClitoria
turnetea containvariousanthocyanin pigmentsintheformofpurplered,violet,andblue
colors,resp.

Theacetoneextractsofthepigmentsturnredinpresenceofacidandshowabsorptionmax.
at500nm(H.rosasinensis)orat525nm(I.fistulosa andC.turnetea).

Present study/Use of Roses color as pH indicator

Anthocyanin wasextractedfromroseflowersby3methodsusingmethanolic solutionsof

0.1%HCl,citricacidandtartaricacid.

Theanthocyanin wasusedasnaturalindicatorinacid basetitration.

TheintrinsicpHoftheextractwas2.88.

Roseanthocyanin extractshowedwavelengthmaximachangefrom517nm(darkpink)to
592nm(green)betweenthepHrange2to9.

Rose anthocyanin

Thecolorantpresentintheroseflowerismainlyconsistingofcyanidin,pelargonin or
peonidin ortomixturesofthesepigments.

Inacidicaqueousmedia(pH29),therearethreeformsofcyanidin:theflavylium cation AH+,

thecarbinol B,andthequinonoidal baseA.

Equilibriumbetweenthetwoneutralformsoccursexclusivelybywayoftheflavylium cation.

Hydrationoftheflavylium cation involvestheformationofaCObondandaprotontransfer.

Theexistenceofverysmallamountsofathirdneutralform,thechalcone C,aprototropic
tautomer ofthecarbinol B,hasalsobeenreported.

Rose anthocyanin color

Roseanthocyanin colorscaleon
differentpHshowcolorsfrompink
togreen.

Titre values of HCl extracted rose Anthocyanin

Titre values of Citric acid extracted rose

Anthocyanin

Titre values of Tartric acid extracted rose Anthocyanin

Conclusions

Thegoalofthisworkwastoproposeasimpleandcheapindicator.

TheselectionnaturaldyestoindicatespecificpHlevelsbasedontheircolor changes.

Acidifiedmethanolic extractofRosarosa werepreparedandusedasnewindicatorsin

quantitativeanalysisofstandardizationofNaOH andHCl solutions.

Effectofusingsuchnaturalextractsasindicatorsgavequantitativeresultsascomparedwith
conventionalindicatorswithgoodagreement.