Phytonutrients
Parimelazhagan Thangaraj in Medicinal Plants, 2018
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.
Plant Source Foods
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy in Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
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.
Nitric Oxide Is Said to Be the “Miracle Molecule” That “Reverses Aging”
Robert Fried, Lynn Nezin in Evidence-Based Proactive Nutrition to Slow Cellular Aging, 2017
Betalains are a new class of antioxidants. Betalains and their metabolites were found to inhibit lipid peroxidation of membranes (Kanner et al. 2001; Reddy et al. 2005). The intense red color of beets is due to high concentrations of betalains, a group of phenolic secondary plant metabolites. Betalains are used as natural colorants by the food industry, but have also received increasing attention due to possible health benefits in humans, especially because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities (Georgiev et al. 2010; Zielinska-Przyjemska et al. 2009).
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).
Encapsulation of beetroot juice: a study on the application of pumpkin oil cake protein as new carrier agent
Published in Journal of Microencapsulation, 2020
Jelena Čakarević, Vanja Šeregelj, Vesna Tumbas Šaponjac, Gordana Ćetković, Jasna Čanadanović Brunet, Senka Popović, Milica Hadnađev Kostić, Ljiljana Popović
The content of betalains (BC) in the samples was determined according to the method described by Von Elbe et al. (2004) modified for 96 well microplate (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) using Multiskan GO, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Vantaa, Finland). Briefly, in the microplate well the sample was mixed with 0.05 M phosphate buffer pH 6.5 to the final volume of 250 μL. Phosphate buffer was used as the blank sample. Betacyanins and betaxanthins were measured at the wavelengths of 538 and 476 nm, respectively, and 600 nm was used for correction. Absorbances of red and yellow pigments were calculated by the following equations: a is the absorbance at 538 nm, b is the absorbance at 476 nm, c is the absorbance at 600 nm, x is the absorbance of betanin corrected for coloured impurities, y is the absorbance of vulgaxanthin-I corrected for coloured impurities and z is the absorbance of impurities. Concentration (C) of red and yellow pigments in digestates were calculated using the following equation: F is the dilution factor (25 or 12.5) and A1% is the absorbance coefficient (1120 for betanin, 750 for vulgaxanthin).
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.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Amaranth
- Anthocyanin
- Aromaticity
- Betanin
- Biological Pigment
- Vacuole
- Nitrogen
- Tyrosine
- Vulgaxanthin
- Indicaxanthin