Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos 149, 21941-909 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Molecules. 2019 Jan 28;24(3):458. doi: 10.3390/molecules24030458.
Betanin is the only betalain approved for use in food and pharmaceutical products as a natural red colorant. However, the antioxidant power and health-promoting properties of this pigment have been disregarded, perhaps due to the difficulty in obtaining a stable chemical compound, which impairs its absorption and metabolism evaluation. Herein, betanin was purified by semi-preparative HPLC-LC/MS and identified by LC-ESI(+)-MS/MS as the pseudomolecular ion / 551.16. Betanin showed significant stability up to -30 °C and mild stability at chilling temperature. The stability and antioxidant ability of this compound were assessed during a human digestion simulation and ex vivo colon fermentation. Half of the betanin amount was recovered in the small intestine digestive fluid and no traces were found after colon fermentation. Betanin high antioxidant ability was retained even after simulated small intestine digestion. Betanin, besides displaying an inherent colorant capacity, was equally effective as a natural antioxidant displaying peroxy-radical scavenger ability in pork meat. Betanin should be considered a multi-functional molecule able to confer an attractive color to frozen or refrigerated foods, but with the capacity to avoid lipid oxidation, thereby preserving food quality. Long-term supplementation by beetroot, a rich source of betanin, should be stimulated to protect organisms against oxidative stress.
甜菜红是唯一被批准用于食品和药品作为天然红色素的甜菜碱。然而，这种色素的抗氧化能力和促进健康的特性一直被忽视，这也许是因为难以获得稳定的化学化合物，从而影响了其吸收和代谢的评估。在此，我们通过半制备 HPLC-LC/MS 对甜菜红进行了纯化，并通过 LC-ESI(+)-MS/MS 鉴定其准分子离子为 /551.16。甜菜红在-30°C 下表现出显著的稳定性，在冷藏温度下具有温和的稳定性。在人体消化模拟和体外结肠发酵过程中，评估了该化合物的稳定性和抗氧化能力。有一半的甜菜红在小肠消化液中被回收，而在结肠发酵后则没有痕迹。甜菜红在模拟小肠消化后仍保持着高抗氧化能力。甜菜红不仅具有固有的着色能力，而且还像天然抗氧化剂一样有效，能够清除猪肉中的过氧自由基。甜菜红应该被认为是一种多功能分子，能够为冷冻或冷藏食品赋予诱人的颜色，同时还能够避免脂质氧化，从而保持食品质量。应该鼓励长期通过富含甜菜红的甜菜根进行补充，以保护机体免受氧化应激的影响。
