Beta vulgaris, betalains

Betalaines. In 1968, the term betalaines was used to describe collectively two groups of plant pigments the red betacyanins and the yellow betaxanthins. The red and yellow dyes found in beets. Beta vulgaris, fall into this category. An interesting history has been written about these dyes (133). 

Stintzing, F.C., Schieber, A., and Carle, R., Identification of betalains from yellow beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, J. Agric. Food Chem., 50, 2302, 2002. 

Mukundan, U. et al., pH-mediated release of betalains from transformed root cultures of Beta vulgaris L., Appl. Microbiol. BiotechnoL, 50, 241, 1998. 

As for anthocyanins, betalains are found in vacuoles and cytosols of plant cells. From the various natural sources of betalains, beetroot (Beta vulgaris) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica) are the only edible sources of these compounds. In the food industry, betalains are less commonly used as natural colorants from plant sources than anthocyanins and carotenoids, probably related to their more restricted distribution in nature. To date, red beetroot is the only betalain source exploited for use as a natural food coloring agent. The major betalain in red beetroot is betanin (or betanidin 5-0-P-glucoside). Prickly pear fruits contain mainly (purple-red) betanin and (yellow-orange) indicaxanthin and the color of these fruits is directly related to the betanin-to-indicaxanthin ratio (99 to 1, 1 to 8, and 2 to 1, respectively in white, yellow, and red fruits)." ... 

Kujala, T., Loponen, J., and Pihlaja, K., Betalains and phenolics in red beetroot Beta vulgaris) peel extracts extraction and characterisation. Ztschr. Naturforsch. C/J. Biosci., 56, 343, 2001. 

Gandla-Herrero, F., Carcla-Carmona, R, and Escribano, J., Fluorescent pigments new perspectives in betalain research and applications, Food Res. Int, 38, 879, 2005. Piattelh, M., Minale, L., and Prota, G., Pigments of Centrospermae. III. Betaxanthins from Beta vulgaris L., Phytochemistry, A, 121, 1965. 

Lee, C.-H. et al., Betalains, phase II enzyme-indncing components from red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) extracts, Nutr. Cancer, 53, 91, 2005. 

Kujala, T.S. et al., Betalain and phenolic compositions of four beetroot Beta vulgaris) cultivars. Fur. Food Res. TechnoL, 214, 505, 2002. 

Stuppner, H. and Egger, R., Application of capillary zone electrophoresis to the analysis of betalains from Beta vulgaris, J. Chromatogr. A, 735, 409, 1996. 

One of the most important applications of PPO, although rarely reported, is its role in synthetic processes, such as the biosynthesis of betalains. Several researchers reported the hydroxylation of tyrosine to dopa, which can then be oxidized to dopaquinone, through a PPO from Portulaca grandiflora and from Beta vulgaris. Thus, a dioxygenase activity complements the constitutive PPO activity and the initiation of this dioxygenase... 

The betalains are confined to ten families of the order Caryophyllales20 The only foods containing betalains are red beet (Beta vulgaris), chard (B. vulgaris), cactus fruit (Opuntia ficus-indica) and pokeberries (Phytolacca americana). They also occur in the poisonous mushroom Amanita muscaria but this is not a normal food source. The importance of the betalains as colorants is confined to preparations from red beet. 

Goldman, I.L., Eagen, K.A., Breitbach, D.N., and Gabelman, W.H. 1996. Simultaneous selection is effective in increasing betalain pigment concentration but not total dissolved solids in red beets (Beta vulgaris L.). J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 121 23-26. 

Root Beet Beta vulgaris Red, yellow or white Betalains... 

Boot roots, red beets. The cultured form of Beta vulgaris (Chenopodiaceae) has been used in Europe as a biennial vegetable plant since the 13th century. They are rich in oxalic acid (>300 mg/kg, in leaves >900 mg/kg), nitrate (200 mg/kg), and sodium (>80 mg/kg). The dark red color is due to the content of betanin (see betanidin) and other betalains and the typical odor to geosmin. The pressed juice is permitted for use as a food colorant. 

Betalains are a group of alkaloidal pigments restricted to about 10 families in the order Caryophyllales (formerly the Centrospermae). These pigments occur in all plant parts, vary in color from yellow to red-violet, exist as zwitterions, are water soluble, and are accumulated in the vacuole. Two main structural types and about 50 compounds have been reported from plants (Strack et al., 1993). The red color of beets (Beta vulgaris) is due to the presence of the betalain... 

Betalains are synthesized by hairy root cultures of Beta vulgaris. The alkaloids are not excreted into the medium (Flores et al., 1987). 

The composition of each of the musca-aurin betalaines was confirmed by partial synthesis from the appropriate amino acid and beta-lamic acid derived in situ from betanin (178), a pigment of the red beet, Beta vulgaris. The equilibrium depicted in Scheme 32 was monitored spectrophotometrically and the musca-aurins thus produced were purified by Sephadex chromatography 189). 

Figure 28 Structure of betalain pigments from Beta vulgaris. (A) Betacyanin betanin (R = glucose). (B) Betaxanthins vulgaxanthin I (R = OH) and vulgaxanthin II (R = NH2)- (C) Betalamic acid.

B. Nemzer, Z. Pietrzkowski, A. Sp6ma, P. Stalica, W. Thresher, T. Michalowski, S. Wybraniec, Betalainic and nutritional profiles of pigment-enriched red beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) dried extracts. Food Chem., 127(2011)42-53. 

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