Cai Y, Sun M, Corke H
Department of Botany, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.
J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Apr;49(4):1971-8. doi: 10.1021/jf000963h.
Red-colored plants in the family Amaranthaceae are recognized as a rich source of diverse and unique betacyanins. The distribution of betacyanins in 37 species of 8 genera in the Amaranthaceae was investigated. A total of 16 kinds of betacyanins were isolated and characterized by HPLC, spectral analyses, and MS. They consisted of 6 simple (nonacylated) betacyanins and 10 acylated betacyanins, including 8 amaranthine-type pigments, 6 gomphrenin-type pigments, and 2 betanin-type pigments. Acylated betacyanins were identified as betanidin 5-O-beta-glucuronosylglucoside or betanidin 6-O-beta-glucoside acylated with ferulic, p-coumaric, or 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acids. Total betacyanin content in the 37 species ranged from 0.08 to 1.36 mg/g of fresh weight. Simple betacyanins (such as amaranthine, which averaged 91.5% of total peak area) were widespread among all species of 8 genera. Acylated betacyanins were distributed among 11 species of 6 genera, with the highest proportion occurring in Iresine herbstii (79.6%) and Gomphrena globosa (68.4%). Some cultivated species contained many more acylated betacyanins than wild species, representing a potential new source of these pigments as natural colorants.
苋科的红色植物被认为是多种独特的甜菜色素的丰富来源。对苋科8个属37个物种中的甜菜色素分布进行了研究。通过高效液相色谱法、光谱分析和质谱法共分离并鉴定了16种甜菜色素。它们由6种简单（非酰化）甜菜色素和10种酰化甜菜色素组成，包括8种苋菜红型色素、6种千日红型色素和2种甜菜苷型色素。酰化甜菜色素被鉴定为5-O-β-葡糖醛酸基葡萄糖苷甜菜红碱或6-O-β-葡萄糖苷甜菜红碱，它们被阿魏酸、对香豆酸或3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酸酰化。37个物种中甜菜色素的总含量在0.08至1.36毫克/克鲜重之间。简单甜菜色素（如苋菜红，平均占总峰面积的91.5%）在8个属的所有物种中广泛存在。酰化甜菜色素分布在6个属的11个物种中，比例最高的是圆叶洋苋（79.6%）和千日红（68.4%）。一些栽培物种含有的酰化甜菜色素比野生物种多得多，这表明这些色素作为天然色素有潜在的新来源。
