Abstract:The thermal stability of betanin was gradually improved by composite stabilizer addition, membrane coating and microencapsulation, and its actual application performance was subsequently evaluated on flatbread. The results showed that betanin exhibited enhanced thermal stability following the addition of ascorbic acid and sodium alginate after heating at 90 ℃ for 20 min; the retention rate reached 66.23%. Furthermore, a sodium alginate-calcium ion membrane was prepared to prevent exposure of betanin to water and oxygen to enhance the thermal stability of betanin on flatbread. The color difference value of flatbread with betanin was 16.96 after steaming at 100 ℃ for 12 min. Finally, by using ascorbic acid and sodium alginate as composite stabilizers and the sodium alginate-calcium ion membrane as a protective membrane against water and oxygen, betanin-loaded microcapsules were prepared through external emulsification. After heating (at 100 ℃ for 12 min), the retention rate of betanin and color difference value were 68.13% and 12.86, respectively, indicating that the microcapsules protected betanin. Therefore, the proposed method may improve the thermal stability of both aqueous and microencapsulated betanin through antioxidant-polysaccharide effects, membrane coating, and microencapsulation. In addition, betanin was applied in flatbread products. These findings are vital for the development and utilization of natural pigments.