Carmine Cochineal Dactylopius coccus Costa (Rhynchota: Dactylopiidae): Significance, production and use

One of the colorants with the greatest number of commercial uses is obtained from the haemolymph of the insect known as carmine cochineal Dactylopius coccus Costa. The insect, originally from Mexico or Peru, was first exported from Mexico to Europe in 1523 and was considered a very precious product. Today, cochineal is reared for marketing purposes in Peru, the Canary Islands, Chile, Bolivia, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico and Ecuador. Insects are reared by placing the female cochineal in containers of different materials, on cladodes or on plants of Opuntia ficus-indica. Carminic cochineal is one of the 26 known and certified natural colorants. The active ingredient of the colorant which characterises the cochineal extract is carminic acid and the quantity of compound found in the insect varies between 10 and 25% of the total dry weight. At present there is a significant demand for natural colorants, also in the industrial sector: in the pharmaceutical industry, in the cosmetic industry and for the preparation of food products. Carminic acid also finds other applications as an indicator of pH in oxidation-reduction and in histology and microscopy.