betaxanthin and betalamic-acid

Currently, the demand for natural colorants is increasing instead of synthetic colorants for foodstuff, because they are harmless to human health. Betalain is group of compounds containing nitrogen and water soluble pigment. Betalain is classified into two main classes, betacyanin which is the condensation of betalamic acid with cyclo-DOPA and betaxanthin which is the conjugation of amino acid or amines with betalamic acid. They are used to color various foods and medicines. Betalain is different from anthocyanin because betalains contain nitrogen in their structures. It is interesting to hear that betalains and anthocyanins are individually significant but they have not seen together in the same plant. Their stability influenced by various factors such as, temperature, pH, water activity and light. In this review basic chemistry of betalains, classes, subclasses, their sources and biosynthesis, factors affecting their stability, health and food industry applications are discussed. Moreover, mentioned work signifies the potent anticancer, antioxidant and antimalarial activities of betalains, furthermore provides a help to do more scientific work on it.

Topics: Antimalarials; Antioxidants; Betacyanins; Betalains; Dihydroxyphenylalanine; Food Coloring Agents; Humans; Picolinic Acids; Pyridines

Betaxanthins are natural water-soluble yellow pigments present in plants of the order Caryophyllales. The native fluorescence of these compounds is extensively characterized in this work, with study of the fluorescent properties of 14 different betaxanthins. All the species showed a similar behavior, with excitation maxima between 463 and 475 nm and emission maxima between 506 and 515 nm. Thus, betaxanthins absorb light corresponding to the blue color and emit visible green light. Similarities in excitation and emission spectra point to the responsibility of betalamic acid in fluorescence. The influence of the amine moiety is discussed. For the first time fluorescent properties of betaxanthins are applied to the detection of these pigments after separation by high-performance liquid chromatography. Wavelengths used were 460 nm for excitation and 510 nm for emission, which were suitable for detecting the native fluorescence of all the pigments assayed. Calibration was performed in each case and it exhibited linearity within the range considered, at least 20 microM. The lowest detection limit was 100 nM, corresponding to betaxanthins derived from methionine sulfoxide and leucine. Fluorescence detection was applied to the quantification of betaxanthins present in Carpobrotus acinaciformis. The present work opens up new possibilities for the analysis of betaxanthins by improving existing protocols through fluorescence detection.

Topics: Betacyanins; Betalains; Caryophyllaceae; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Indoles; Magnoliopsida; Picolinic Acids; Pyridines; Spectrometry, Fluorescence