Nurul Najihah Binti Rosli, Rafeqah Binti Raslan, Nindita Pradnya
Dyes worldwide are drawing attention to the health risks they pose, thereby beckoning radical change toward better alternatives. Synthetic dyes are large, complex molecules that are resistant to biodegradation, leading to various environmental issues. The trend in natural products has been toward natural dyes, particularly those derived from flowering parts, such as the flowers of Clitoria ternatea, which produce blue colors due to anthocyanins. This research aims to extract anthocyanins from Clitoria ternatea using two solvents: distilled water and ethanol. The most efficient solvent for the extraction of natural dyes from Clitoria ternatea was determined by focusing on two key parameters: extraction time and pH. The total anthocyanin content was determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy; the presence of functional groups was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR); and the color attributes of Clitoria ternatea were assessed using a chroma meter. The results showed that distilled water consistently yielded higher anthocyanin content than ethanol, with the highest value at 60 minutes of extraction. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of key functional groups associated with anthocyanins, while color analysis indicated that higher anthocyanin content corresponded to darker and more intense blue coloration. These findings demonstrate that distilled water is a more effective and environmentally friendly solvent for anthocyanin extraction. The information presented may serve as a basis for further research on the extraction of natural dyes, advancing the process and enabling the creation of new natural products. © 2026, Gadjah Mada University. All rights reserved.
Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Shah Alam, 40450, Malaysia; Surface Coating Research Group, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Shah Alam, 40450, Malaysia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Kota Semarang, 50229, Indonesia
