Red beetroot betalains: extraction, processing and health effects
What it found
Red beetroot betalains are natural pigments with reported health-promoting effects, but they break down easily with heat, pH, light and oxygen.
The work pulls together extraction and processing methods and their reported bioactivities.
What they found
What betalains are
Betalains from red beetroot are natural pigments. They mainly include yellow-orange betaxanthins or red-violet betacyanins.
Sensitivity to processing
Betalains are quite sensitive to heat, pH, light and oxygen. This leads to poor stability during processing and storage.
Extraction and processing methods
Both conventional and innovative extraction techniques and processing methods for betalains from red beetroot were reviewed. Their effects on betalains were examined.
Reported bioactivities
A variety of recently reported bioactivities of beetroot betalains were summarized. The authors describe them as having diverse health-promoting effects.
What the authors conclude
- They say it is necessary to understand the impacts of processing approaches on betalains.
- They state that their work can provide a comprehensive review on both conventional and innovative extraction techniques, processing methods, and the stability of betalains.
How it was done
Red beetroot has drawn growing interest as an abundant source of bioactive compounds, especially betalains, which have potential as a functional food ingredient in the food and medical industry.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of other work, not a new experiment, so it cannot show cause and effect.
- It does not report how much beetroot betalains a person would need to take in for any health effect.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Southwest University, China; Beijing Technology & Business University, China; Northeast Agricultural University, China
The paper
- Title
- Red Beetroot Betalains: Perspectives on Extraction, Processing, and Potential Health Benefits
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Fu Y, Shi J, Xie SY, Zhang TY, Soladoye OP, Aluko RE (2020). Red Beetroot Betalains: Perspectives on Extraction, Processing, and Potential Health Benefits. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.0c04241PubMed 33040529DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error