Carminic acid

Synonyms

Natural Red 4; 2-Anthroic acid, 7-D-glucopyranosyl-9,10-dihydro-3,5,6,8-tetrahydroxy-1-methyl-9,10-dioxo-; 7-D-Glucopyranosyl-9,10-dihydro-3,5,6,8-tetrahydroxy-1-methyl-9,10-dioxo-2-anthroic acid; 7beta-D-Glucopyranosyl-9,10-dihydro-3,5,6,8-tetrahydroxy-1-methyl-9,10-dioxo-2-anthracenecarboxylic acid; C.I. 75470; C.I. Natural Red 4; CI 75470; CI Natural Red 4; Carminic acid; Coccus cacti extract; Cochineal extract; Cochineal tincture; E 120; E 120 (dye); San-Ei Gen San Red 1; Sanred 1; Sun Red 1; Sun Red No. 1; [ChemIDplus]

Category

Anthraquinone Dyes

Description

Dark purplish-brown or bright red solid; [Hawley] Deep violet fine crystals; [MSDSonline]

Sources/Uses

Extracted from the insects Coccus cacti (cochineal); [Hawley] Used as a free acid in color photography, a pigment for artists' paints, a bacteriological stain, a reagent for aluminum, a complexing agent for cations, a dye, and rarely now as an acid-base indicator or oxidimetric indicator; [HSDB]

Comments

Carminic acid is the active color; Carmine is the aluminum lake of carminic acid; Carminic acid is derived from the insect Coccus cacti; [HSDB] See "Carmine" and "Cochineal."

Reference Link #1

Biomedical References

Processes

Industrial Processes with risk of exposure:

• Photographic Processing

Activities

Activities with risk of exposure:

• Painting