Abstract: The technology of extracting natural edible red pigment from Rhodiola and the characteristics of the pigment have been studied in this paper. It was clear from the results that among the several chemicals tested for the extraction of the red pigments, 95% ethanol (pH3) was optimum for the extraction of Rhodiola pigment with λmax of the Rhodiola pigment was 314nm. This Rhodiola pigment was stable when they were affected by the sunshine and temperature. Most of the metal ions(Ca2+, Mg2+,Mn2+, Zn2+) could not interfere the stability of the pigment except Fe3+. Rhodiola pigment was stable only under acid condition. The results showed that the pigment was worth of exploiting and utilizing. It might be used as one of the resources of naturale diblep igments.

Key words: Rhodiola rosea, pigment, extraction, stability