Red Beets

Sorghum, tomato, alfalfa, vetch (purple), parsley, beet (red), beet (sugar)... 

FIGURE 2.4.2 Production scheme of a coloring foodstuff (left) and a food colorant (right) from red beet. 

Wybraniec, S., Formation of decarboxylated hetacyanins in heated pnrified hetacyanin fractions from red beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) monitored by LC-MS/MS, J. Agric. Food Ghent., 53, 3483, 2005. 

Wasserman, B.P. and GuUfoy, M.P., Peroxidative properties of betanin decolorization by cell walls of red beet. Phytochemistry, 22, 2653, 1983. 

Drdak, M. et al., Red beet pigment composition effects of fermentation by different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, J. Food Sci., 57, 935, 1992. 

Czapski, J., Maksymiuk, M., and Grajek, W., Analysis of biodenitrification conditions of red beet juice using the response surface method, J. Agric. Food Chem., 46, 4702, 1998. 

Grajek, W.H. and WaUcowiak-Tomczak, D., Factors influencing the denitrification rate of red beet juice by the bacteria Paracoccus denitrificans, J. Agric. Food Chem., 45, 1963, 1997. 

Kolb, E. et al., Potential nitrosamine formation and its prevention during biological denitrification of red beet juice, Food Chem. Toxicol., 35, 219, 1997. 

WaUcowiak-Tomczak, D., Microbiological denitrification of red beet juice. Fur. Food Res. TechnoL, 215, 401, 2002. 

Despite their potential health-promoting effects as dietary antioxidants, the fate of betalains in humans has been poorly studied. Betalain bioavailability was first demonstrated in humans by the appearance of betacyanins in urines after ingestion of beetroot extract" and red beet juice," indicating that these compounds are indeed absorbed. Although intact betacyanins (betanin and isobetaiun) appeared rapidly in human urine with a maximum excretion rate observed within 2.5 to 8 hr," betacy-anin recoveries in human urine were usually low (< 1% of the dose) over 24 hr postdose, suggesting that either the bioavailabifity of betacyaiuns from red beetroot is low or that renal clearance is a minor excretion route for these compounds. 

Frank, T. et al., Urinary pharmacokinetics of betalains following consumption of red beet juice in healthy humans, Pharmacol. Res., 52, 290, 2005. 

The fortunate constellation of scientists at Wisconsin facilitated further achievements toward increasing pigment content in red beets. In a recurrent selection program, betalain contents of red beet crops were enhanced by 200%. This example should encourage both food scientists and plant breeders to join forces and invest in the improvement of promising color crops. 

The adverse properties of red beet preparations are without doubt, their high nitrate content, their unpleasant smell due to pyrazine derivatives and geosmin with a low odor threshold, and finally the risk of carry-over of earth-bound germs. - " Since nitrate has been associated with nitrite and nitrosamine formation, the latter exhibiting cancer-inducing properties, procedures have been developed to reduce the nitrate content of red beet preparations. This has been achieved by microbial denitrification. - ... 

Betalains have recently regained importance due to continuing interest in natural food colorants. Currently, red beet is the only food source commercially exploited, although amaranth, Swiss chard, yellow beet, and cactus fruit represent promising... 

From a technological view, measures to stabilize betalains during the production process need to be elaborated. Some approaches have been described in the earlier literature, mainly for red beets and only recently for alternative crops such as cactus... 

Besides their interesting color application values, betalainic plants are also worthwhile from a nutritional standpoint. Research on this topic has recently been resumed with great scientific vigor in both in vitro and in vivo studies on red beets, amaranth, red-colored Swiss chard, red-violet pitahayas, and especially cactus pears. ° In the future, betalainic color crops will be benchmarked because of their pigment structure and quantity and also because of the individual and synergistic activities of their components such as colorless phenolics, amino compounds, peptides, proteins, and hydrocolloids. 

Lu, G. et al.. Quantitative determination of geosmin in red beets (Beta vulgaris L.) using headspace solid-phase microextraction, J. Agric. Food Chem., 51, 1021, 2003. 

Savolainen, K. and Kuusi, T., The stability properties of golden beet and red beet pigments influence of pH, temperature, and some stabilizers, Ztschr. Lebensm. (Inters. Forsch., 166, 19, 1978. 

Megard, D., Stability of red beet pigments for use as food colorant a review. Foods Food Ingred. J., 158, 130, 1993. 

Adams, J.P, Von Elbe, J.H., and Amundson, C.H., Production of a betacyanine concentrate by fermentation of red beet juice with Candida utilis, J. Food ScL, 41, 78, 1976. 

---