Tartrazine and blood vessel formation in zebrafish and human cells
What it found
Tartrazine disrupted how blood vessels form in zebrafish larvae and slowed the growth of human vein cells in lab dishes.
The effects grew stronger at higher doses.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Bleeding in zebrafish larvae
Zebrafish embryos exposed to tartrazine developed bleeding spots across their bodies starting on day two. The bleeding was worse at higher doses and sometimes reached the brain area.
Disrupted vessels in zebrafish
In zebrafish bred to have glowing blood vessel cells, tartrazine stopped those cells from organizing into normal vessels. This happened in the gut area and the head at doses of 5 and 10 g/L.
Human cell growth slowed
Human vein cells in lab dishes multiplied much more slowly when tartrazine was added. Growth was cut in half at a concentration of 30 mg/L.
Human cells failed to form tubes
The human cells normally build tube shapes that look like tiny blood vessels. Tartrazine stopped this process entirely at 267 mg/L, and even the lowest tested dose of 10.7 mg/L reduced it.
Human cell movement blocked
When scientists scratched a gap in a layer of human cells, the cells usually move to close it. Tartrazine strongly reduced this movement in the lab dishes.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that tartrazine can disrupt blood vessel formation by interfering with proteins that control cell shape and movement.
- They propose this effect might explain why some people develop bleeding spots under the skin after consuming the dye.
- They also note that the dye could potentially be studied for medical uses where blocking new blood vessels is helpful.
How it was done
Scientists wanted to understand how tartrazine might affect health, since some people report bleeding under the skin after consuming it. They also wanted to see if the dye could interfere with blood vessel development.
They exposed zebrafish embryos to tartrazine for up to four days and watched how their blood vessels formed. They also tested human umbilical vein cells in lab dishes at several dye concentrations over 6 to 48 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- These tests used fish embryos and isolated human cells in lab dishes, not whole living people.
- Scientists do not yet know if eating foods with tartrazine delivers enough of the dye to blood vessels to cause these effects in everyday life.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Wallonie-Bruxelles International; Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
- Authors work at
- Université de Liège, Belgium; VNU University of Science, Vietnam; Vietnam National University, Vietnam
The paper
- Title
- The food dye Tartrazine disrupts vascular formation both in zebrafish larvae and in human primary endothelial cells
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Thanh DD, Bich-Ngoc N, Paques C, et al (2024). The food dye Tartrazine disrupts vascular formation both in zebrafish larvae and in human primary endothelial cells. Scientific reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-82076-5Free full textPubMed 39639097DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error