Colorants are widely used today in the food and pharmaceutical industries to create fascinating new products, especially for younger age groups (Ayseli, 2023). Previous research demonstrated that synthetic colorants [e.g. Allura Red AC-E129; E122], are associated with numerous adverse side effects, namely hyperactivity, sleep disorders (Adams et al., 2011), and allergic reactions (Silva, Reboredo, & Lidon, 2022). Furthermore, a notable result of recent trends is that the use of animal-derived colorants, such as carmine, must be reduced due to the increase in vegan nutrition. The use of natural ingredients, such as colorants, is of increasing interest due to consumer demand for the reduction of the aforementioned side effects as a result of the replacement of synthetic chemical additives with natural ones. Natural colorants also steal the spotlight from developing foods that claim to have ‘clean labeling’ (Ayseli, 2023). Therefore, the production of natural colorants obtained from industrial waste offers companies a great opportunity to remove artificial colors from their formulations and replace them with natural colors (Ayseli, 2023). Among the natural color sources, black carrot (Daucus carota L. spp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) is considered one of the best sources of food industry waste due to its anthocyanin content (Agcam, Akyıldız, & Balasubramaniam, 2017). As is known, AP allows the development of fascinating dairy, confectionery, soft drinks, functional foods, and food supplements (Agcam et al., 2017; Ayseli, 2023). However, there are relatively few restrictions when replacing natural dyes with synthetic dyes, leading to color loss due to their low resistance to tincture, interactions with food ingredients, reduced heat stability, and sensitivity to light and oxygen, resulting in a color reduction (Ayseli, 2023).

The BCP used in this study emerges as a valuable food waste after food production and is not used adequately (Elik, 2021). Furthermore, new technologies are required, including irradiation, electrohydrodynamic processing, pulsed electrical field, high hydrostatic pressure, and UV decontamination, to ensure the safety of soil-grown products and their processed ingredients (Alighourchi, Barzegar, & Abbasi, 2008). Among them, the ease of incorporating nanomaterials into food, nutraceuticals, or pharmaceuticals using electrospinning allows the protection of bioactive materials such as colorants and presents promising opportunities in the area of health-oriented product development (Kavimughil, Maria Leena, Moses, & Anandharamakrishnan, 2023). For this purpose, gelatin, which is known to be a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, was selected as a wall material. Gelatin has been widely used for the nanoencapsulation of extracts by electrospinning (Estrella-Osuna et al., 2022), which is promising for improving the properties of anthocyanin compounds as a heat-free and environmentally friendly technique (Amal Nath, Vijayakumar, Leena, Moses, & Anandharamakrishnan, 2022). On the other hand, several excellent reviews and research articles have recently been published on irradiation, and it has been suggested that irradiation could also be a promising technique to overcome challenges in reducing postharvest losses, controlling stored product insects, soil microbial contamination, and handling practices (Arvanitoyannis, Stratakos, & Tsarouhas, 2009).

However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous research has explored the potential effects of electrospinning with gelatine polymer and irradiation on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of AP obtained from BCP. In the present work, the molecular and thermal properties of AP were also evaluated after both treatments. This article provides readers with an overview of improvements in protecting AP against various physicochemical factors, including oxygen, humidity, temperature, pH, and light, that lead to degradation or loss of bioavailability. There is no doubt that this knowledge could be useful for the development of new products in various sectors, including food and pharmaceutical industries, considering recent trends in clean labeling.