Alkannin is a natural dye

Natural dye

Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....

 that is obtained from the extracts of Alkanna tinctoria. The dye is used as a food coloring

Food coloring

Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking...

 and in cosmetics. As a food additive

Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...

 it has the E number

E number

E numbers are number codes for food additives that have been assessed for use within the European Union . They are commonly found on food labels throughout the European Union. Safety assessment and approval are the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority...

 E103.

The chemical structure as a naphthoquinone

Naphthoquinone

Naphthoquinone is a class of natural phenols based on the C6-C4 skeleton.1,4-Naphthoquinone can be viewed as derivatives of naphthalene through the replacement of two hydrogen atoms by two ketone groups....

 derivative was first determined by Brockmann in 1936. Alkannin has a deep red color in a greasy or oily environment and a violet color in an alkaline environment. Biosynthetically

Biosynthesis

Biosynthesis is an enzyme-catalyzed process in cells of living organisms by which substrates are converted to more complex products. The biosynthesis process often consists of several enzymatic steps in which the product of one step is used as substrate in the following step...

, alkannin is produced in plants from the intermediates 4-hydroxybenzoic acid

4-Hydroxybenzoic acid

4-Hydroxybenzoic acid is a monohydroxybenzoic acid, a phenolic derivative of benzoic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that is slightly soluble in water and chloroform but more soluble in polar organic solvents such as alcohols and acetone...

 and geranyl pyrophosphate

Geranyl pyrophosphate

Geranyl pyrophosphate is an intermediate in the HMG-CoA reductase pathway used by organisms in the biosynthesis of farnesyl pyrophosphate, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, cholesterol, terpenes and terpenoids....

.

Alkannin is an antioxidant and has an antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...

and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Staphylococcus epidermidis

Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of thirty-three known species belonging to the genus Staphylococcus. It is part of human skin flora, and consequently part of human flora. It can also be found in the mucous membranes and in animals. Due to contamination, it is probably the most common species...

. It is also known to have wound healing,
antitumor, and antithrombotic properties.