Beetroot and cancer: what the research shows so far
What it found
Beetroot extracts and betanin, a pigment in beetroot, have shown antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects in lab tests and animals.
Human studies on cancer are still lacking.
What they found
Studies in people
Fatigue and exercise
In healthy people, beetroot juice improved exercise performance and tolerance. The authors suggest this may help with cancer-related fatigue, but no studies have tested beetroot for fatigue in cancer patients.
Animal and lab studies
Anti-cancer effects in animals
In rats and mice, beetroot extracts and betanin reduced the number of tumors or precancerous growths caused by carcinogens. They also reduced inflammation and blood vessel growth in tumors and increased cancer cell death.
Anti-cancer effects in cells
In lab tests, betanin and other beetroot compounds slowed the growth of several cancer cell lines, including leukemia, liver, bladder, breast and pancreatic cancer cells. They also triggered cancer cell death.
Heart protection
In rats, beetroot juice reduced heart damage caused by doxorubicin, a chemotherapy drug. The authors suggest beetroot juice might help protect the heart in patients treated with anthracycline drugs.
Studies in people and animals
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
In lab tests, beetroot extracts and betanin showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Betanin reduced DNA damage and inflammation in cells. In rats, beetroot juice protected against liver damage caused by a food-borne carcinogen.
Other findings
Nutrients in beetroot
Beetroot contains betalains (red and yellow pigments), polyphenols, flavonoids, dietary nitrates, vitamins A and C, minerals, amino acids and sugars. More than 80% of its red pigments are betacyanins, mainly betanin.
What the authors conclude
- They say beetroot is a valuable vegetable with great potential for cancer prevention and for managing fatigue and other side effects of chemotherapy.
- They advise that long-term safety studies and more research in patients with cancer are needed before beetroot can be recommended for these uses.
- They caution that beetroot juice should be used with care in pregnancy, in people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome due to its sugar content, and in those at risk of kidney stones due to its oxalate content.
How it was done
Patients with cancer often get fatigue, insomnia, depression and thinking problems from the disease or chemotherapy. The authors wanted to see if beetroot, as a health-promoting food, could help prevent cancer or manage these side effects.
The authors searched three databases for articles on beetroot and cancer published between 2000 and 2021. They looked at studies on beetroot's nutrients, its effects in lab tests and animals, and any human studies.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the evidence comes from lab tests and animals, so it cannot show what happens in people.
- There have been no clinical trials testing whether beetroot prevents cancer or helps with cancer-related fatigue in patients.
- The exact amount of beetroot or betanin needed to get these effects in people is not known.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- CONFLICTS OF INTEREST No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
- Authors work at
- Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
The paper
- Title
- Beetroot as a Potential Functional Food for Cancer Chemoprevention, a Narrative Review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Tan ML, Hamid SBS (2021). Beetroot as a Potential Functional Food for Cancer Chemoprevention, a Narrative Review. Journal of cancer prevention. doi:10.15430/JCP.2021.26.1.1Free full textPubMed 33842401DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error