According to many studies, the skin and flesh of dragon fruit contain a significant amount of pectin, a thickening, emulsifying and stabilizing additive in food.

In addition, red flesh dragon fruit also contains a significant amount of betalain, which plays the role of purple-red colorant in the flesh and skin of the fruit. In addition, betalain also has antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Moreover, betalains have not been considered by the food industry as a potential additive, due to their poor color fastness properties, preventing long-term storage for industrial applications.

Realizing that the peel accounts for 22-44% of the discarded red flesh dragon fruit weight, during the processing process, the authors at Van Hien University carried out the project "Research on color stability of Betalains extracted from dragon fruit skin with cellulose-Pectin matrix coating."

The research team also investigated and showed that the durability of betalain depends on the heating process, pH, and storage mode. In particular, for the best durability, it is necessary to heat at a temperature above 80oC, stabilize and maintain the amount of pigment above 88% at a pH of 3-7. In addition, should be protected from light and moisture during the process of preservation of betalain in microencapsulation.