PRODUCTION OF BETALAINS FROM HAIRY ROOT CULTURE OF BETA VULGARIS AND ITS USE IN PARACETAMOL SYRUP AS A NATURAL COLOURANT

Objective: The present study was aimed to extract betalains from hairy root culture of Beta vulgaris and its use in pharmaceutical formulations as a colorant. Methods: Hairy roots were initiated using different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes such as A.2/83, A.20/83, A.4, and LMG 150; LMG 150 was found to initiate a large number of hairy roots, and betalain content was estimated. Paracetamol syrup was prepared using extracted betalains as a colorant at different concentrations of 10 and 30 mg/150 ml. Stability studies were carried out at a different temperatures such as 25°C, 30°C, and 40°C) and light (dark, 1000 and 2000 lux) for 45 days. Results: In case of a concentration of 10 mg/150 ml syrup, the effects of temperature such as 25°C, 30°C, and 40°C and dark condition on the degradation of betalains were found to be 48%, 88%, and 100% in 45 days, respectively. The effects of temperature such as 25°C, 30°C, and 40°C at light 1000 lux on degradations of betalains were found to be 81% and 98% at 25°C and 30°C in 45 days, respectively, and 100% at 40°C in 30 days and at 2000 lux were found to be 100% at 25°C and 30°C in 30 days and 100% at 40°C in 10 days. The similar levels of degradation rate were observed with a concentration of 30 mg/150 ml. Conclusion: Experimental data demonstrated that formulation with betalains exhibited better stability at the dark condition and lower temperature.