Carthamin is a natural red pigment derived from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), earlier known as carthamine.

[2] It was used extensively in the past for dyeing wool for the carpet industry in European countries, and in the dyeing of silk and the creation of cosmetics in Japan, where the color is called beni (紅);[3][4] however, due to the expensive nature of the dye, Japanese safflower dyestuffs were sometimes diluted with other dyes, such as turmeric and sappan.

[6] Carthamin is composed of two chalconoids; the conjugated bonds being the cause of the red color.

[clarification needed] The carthamin is biosynthesized from a chalcone (2,4,6,4'-tetrahydroxychalcone) and two glucose molecules to give safflor yellow A and with other glucose molecule, safflor yellow B.

The next step is the formation of precarthamin and finally carthamin.