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Plant Source Foods
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Betalains are water-soluble bioactive pigments classified into betacyanin pigment, which is red-violet in color, and betaxanthin pigment, which is yellow-orange in color. The major betalain in red beetroot is betanin, which belongs to red betacyanin pigment. Betalains have high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and are used to fight oxidative stress and chronic inflammation such as liver disease, arthritis, and even cancer (181–185). Red beetroot or Beta vulgaris rubra is richer in antioxidants than other Beta vulgaris varieties.
Selected Functional Foods That Combat the Effects of Hyperglycemia and Chronic Inflammation
Published in Robert Fried, Richard M. Carlton, Type 2 Diabetes, 2018
Robert Fried, Richard M. Carlton
The journal Nutrients published a report that concluded that betalains in beetroot extracts have emerged as potent anti-inflammatory agents (Clifford, Howatson, West et al. 2015). At least part of their anti-inflammatory effects seems to be their inhibition of pro-inflammatory signaling cascades, the most prominent of these being the NF-κB cascade that activates and transcribes most gene targets that regulate and amplify the inflammatory response (i.e., cytokines, chemokines, and apoptotic and phagocytic cells) (Baker, Hayden, and Ghosh. 2001). Consequently, NF-κB activity plays a central role in the inflammatory processes that manifest in chronic disease (Baker, Hayden, and Ghosh. 2001).
Phytonutrients
Published in Parimelazhagan Thangaraj, Medicinal Plants, 2018
Ranganathan Kumar, Sulaxana Kumari Chauhan, Subramanian Vijayalakshmi, Shanmugam Nadanasabapathi
The name ‘betalain’ is designated from the Latin term of the common beet (Beta vulgaris), from which betalains were first extracted. The deep red colour of beets, amaranth, bougainvillea and many cacti results from the presence of pigments. Betalains are a class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments present in plants of the Caryophyllales, as well as in some higher-order fungi, where they replace anthocyanin pigments (Strack et al. 2003). There are two categories of betalains: Betacyanins comprise the reddish to violet betalain pigments and betaxanthins that are those betalain pigments that impart yellow to orange colour.
Evaluation of Cytotoxic Activity of Betanin Against U87MG Human Glioma Cells and Normal Human Lymphocytes and Its Anticancer Potential Through Mitochondrial Pathway
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2021
Ahmad Salimi, Tannaz Bahiraei, Sana Ahdeno, Saba Vatanpour, Jalal Pourahmad
The important aim in the drug discovery is to find affordable, safe, and efficacious chemotherapeutic agents. Bioactive natural compounds are favorite candidates for these objectives, and they have the great importance in the drug discovery today (10). Recent investigations have shown that anticancer activity of numerous natural compounds in gliomas by specifically targeting mitochondrial dysfunction (6). Recent published works have indicated the protective role of beetroot extracts against carcinogenesis and their cytotoxic activity on tumor cells. Among these natural compounds in beetroot extracts, betanin is the only betalain approved for use in food and pharmaceutical products as a natural red colorant and with anticancer effect (11). In this study, we searched the selective cytotoxicity of betanin on U87MG human glioma cells and their mitochondria and compared the findings with those of human normal lymphocytes as noncancerous normal control cells.
Fresh Fruit Juice of Opuntia dillenii Haw. Attenuates Acetic Acid–Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats
Published in Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2019
S. Babitha, K. Bindu, Taj Nageena, V. P. Veerapur
Betalains are natural pigments characteristic of plants of the order Caryophyllales (Vidal, Nicolas, Herrero, & Carmona, 2014). The betalains are well known as safe coloring agents for food or other industrial uses and have been recognized as a novel class of antioxidants (Tesoriere, Allegra, Butera, & Livrea, 2004). The anti-inflammatory activity of betalain against carrageenan-induced paw edema has been reported due to reducing the generation of superoxide anions and the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and interleukin (IL)-1β, in addition to increasing of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10, and betalain has been suggested for possible use in the treatment of inflammation-associated diseases (Martinez et al., 2015). Antioxidant defenses are necessary to protect against free radical–mediated oxidative damage, inflammation, and tissue injury. Besides being direct antioxidants, betalains can initiate the expression of endogenous antioxidant molecules through induction of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2) (Martinez et al., 2015). In addition, betalains have been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity through inactivation of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes that are involved in the inflammatory response (Vidal et al., 2014).
Functional Food and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Treatment: A Review
Published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2018
Sedigheh Asgary, Ali Rastqar, Mahtab Keshvari
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family and is originally from temperate climate regions (168). This plant contains biologically active phytochemicals, including betalains (e.g., betacyanins and betaxanthins), flavonoids, polyphenols, and dietary nitrate (169). Dietary nitrate and nitrite serve as a nitric oxide (NO) sources (170). NO has a vital role in the regulation of vascular tone and BP (171,172). Cao et al. suggested that nitrite, a known vasodilator, has an indirect effect in promoting vascular NO synthesis (173).