Violaxanthin is a xanthophyll pigment with an orange color found in a variety of plants.

Violaxanthin is the product of the epoxidation of zeaxanthin where the oxygen atoms are from reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Such ROS's arise when a plant is subject to solar radiation so intense that the light cannot all be absorbed by the chlorophyll.

[2] Violaxanthin is used as a food coloring under the E number E161e and INS number 161e.

The coloring is not approved for use in food in the EU[3] or the United States, but is allowed in Australia and New Zealand.