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Betalains: properties, sources, applications, and stability – a review
Author(s) -
Azeredo Henriette M.C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2007.01668.x
Subject(s) - betalain , biological pigment , carotenoid , chemistry , orange (colour) , betanin , pigment , biochemistry , food science , organic chemistry
Summary Consumers are increasingly avoiding foods containing synthetic colourants, which lead food industries to replace them by natural pigments, such as carotenoids, betalains, anthocyanins and carminic acid. Betalains are water‐soluble nitrogen‐containing pigments, composed of two structural groups: the red‐violet betacyanins and the yellow‐orange betaxanthins. This review synthesises the published literature on basic chemistry of betalains, their sources and chemical stability. Moreover, several works are mentioned which have demonstrated the potent antioxidant activity of betalains, which has been associated with protection against degenerative diseases.