TY - JOUR
T1 - Betalains: Natural plant pigments with potential application in functional foods
AU - Gengatharan, Ashwini
AU - Dykes, Gary A
AU - Choo, Wee Sim
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Betalains are plant derived natural pigments that are presently gaining popularity for use as natural colorants in the food industry. The growing interest of consumers in the aesthetic, nutritional and safety aspects of food has increased the demand for natural pigments such as betalains to be used as alternative colorants in food products. Although betalains from red beetroot are one of the most widely used food colorant, betalains are not as well studied as compared to other natural pigments such as anthocyanins, carotenoids or chlorophylls. This paper reviews the pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-lipidemic and antimicrobial activity of betalains derived from sources such as red beetroot, amaranth, prickly pear and red pitahaya, for potential application as functional foods.
AB - Betalains are plant derived natural pigments that are presently gaining popularity for use as natural colorants in the food industry. The growing interest of consumers in the aesthetic, nutritional and safety aspects of food has increased the demand for natural pigments such as betalains to be used as alternative colorants in food products. Although betalains from red beetroot are one of the most widely used food colorant, betalains are not as well studied as compared to other natural pigments such as anthocyanins, carotenoids or chlorophylls. This paper reviews the pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-lipidemic and antimicrobial activity of betalains derived from sources such as red beetroot, amaranth, prickly pear and red pitahaya, for potential application as functional foods.
UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643815300025
U2 - 10.1016/j.lwt.2015.06.052
DO - 10.1016/j.lwt.2015.06.052
M3 - Article
VL - 64
SP - 645
EP - 649
JO - LWT
JF - LWT
SN - 0023-6438
IS - 2
ER -
