Department of Pharmacognosy and Herbal Medicines, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 211A, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland.
Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland.
Molecules. 2021 Apr 22;26(9):2439. doi: 10.3390/molecules26092439.
Flavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanidins are widely studied polyphenolics owing to their antiradical activity. Recently, beetroot dyes have drawn an attention as possible radical scavengers, but scant information can be found on this topic. In this study selected compounds were investigated using computational chemistry methods. Implicit water at physiological pH was chosen as the environment of interest. Betalains' dissociation process and electronic structure were examined, as well as the reactivity in six pathways against some common radicals, such as hydroxyl, hydroperoxide, superoxide, and nitric oxide. The study showed that all carboxyl groups are dissociated in the given conditions. The dissociation process impacts the electronic structure, which has consequences for the overall activity. Highly stabilized conjugated structures favor the electron-accepting type of scavenging reactions, primarily by a radical adduct formation mechanism. Betanidin and indicaxanthin were found to be the most promising of the compounds studied. Nevertheless, the study established the role of betalains as powerful antiradical dietary agents.
类黄酮、酚酸和花青素是广泛研究的多酚类化合物，因为它们具有抗自由基活性。最近，甜菜根染料作为可能的自由基清除剂引起了人们的关注，但关于这个主题的信息很少。在这项研究中，使用计算化学方法研究了选定的化合物。在生理 pH 值下选择隐式水作为感兴趣的环境。研究了甜菜红素的离解过程和电子结构，以及在六种途径中对一些常见自由基（如羟基、过氧化物、超氧化物和一氧化氮）的反应性。研究表明，在给定条件下，所有的羧基都发生了离解。离解过程会影响电子结构，从而影响整体活性。高度稳定的共轭结构有利于电子接受型清除反应，主要通过自由基加成反应机制。研究发现，在研究的化合物中，甜菜因和印度黄质最有前途。然而，该研究确立了甜菜红素作为强大的抗自由基膳食剂的作用。
