Carthamus, an annual of the Asteraceae family, is known for its yellow to red-orange flowers and as the raw material for making safflower oil. Carthamus Yellow is the yellow water-soluble pigment extracted from the flower. Carthamus Red is extracted by adding mildly alkaline water to the residue after removing the yellow pigment. Main component of the red pigment is carthamin of the flavonoid group. Although soluble under alkaline conditions, this pigment is essentially insoluble in water. Carthamus Red is mainly used for coloring traditional Japanese confectionery.