Uses of Justicia spicigera in medicine and as a source of pigments | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 4 No. 9 (2014): September 2014 / Review Articles Uses of Justicia spicigera in medicine and as a source of pigments Authors Itzamná Baqueiro-Peña Depto de Ing. Química, Alimentos y Ambiental. Universidad de las Américas Puebla Cholula, Puebla 72820, José A. Guerrero-Beltrán Depto de Ing. Química, Alimentos y Ambiental. Universidad de las Américas Puebla Cholula, Puebla 72820, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i9.150 Abstract Background: Justicia spicigera (muicle) is a plant that has been used from the pre-Hispanic era to contemporary times in Mexico. It has been used in the traditional medicine for healing diseases such as dysentery, diabetes, leukemia, and anemia, just to mention some human disorders. It has been used for obtaining indigo dye after making extraction with water to be used for coloring of baskets, crafts, and clothes. The pigments, as a powder, have been studied for use for coloring foods. The dyeing characteristics of the J. spicigera pigments have antioxidant properties due to the flavonoids content. Since this plant has been used for making infusions to people for curing some physical disorders, today J. spicigera is being studied to take advance of its dyeing and antioxidant properties to be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Key words: Justicia spicigera (muicle), antioxidants, traditional medicine, pigments for foods, indigo, phytochemicals Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2014-09-06 Issue Vol. 4 No. 9 (2014): September 2014 Section Review Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com