Monitoring of the betalain content dynamics in table beet (Beta vulgaris L.) during long-term storage

Background. The use of betalains as natural food colorants faces difficulties related to the stability of their chemical structure during storage and, consequently, their coloring ability. The relevance of the study is due to insufficient knowledge of the patterns of changes in betalain concentration during long-term storage.

Materials and methods. The study analyzed 52 table beet accessions with intense red root color from the VIR collection. Quantitative measurement of betalains was carried out spectrophotometrically.

Results and conclusion. The content of these pigments in the studied accessions ranged from 130 to 1526 mg/100 g dry weight, specifically: betacyanins varied from 82 to 1271 mg/100 g, and betaxanthins from 23 to 494 mg/100 g. Using cluster analysis, all accessions were divided into 4 groups depending on the total betalain content. Data were obtained on the monthly dynamics of betalain content in table beet roots during long-term storage. In the first month after harvesting and placing the roots into storage, an increase in betalain content of approximately 40% was observed. On average, pigment degradation during long-term storage was 28%. The decrease in betalains occurred mainly due to a reduction in the amount of betacyanins. Among the studied accessions, cv. ‘Generalskaya’ (k-3894, Russia) is of greatest interest for obtaining the colorant immediately after harvesting and in the first month of storage. Cvs. ‘Kombat’ (k-4032, Russia) and ‘Marusya’ (k-3982, Russia) turned out to be the most stable sources of the pigment throughout the entire storage period.

1. Burenin V.I. Genetic resources of the genus Beta L. (Beet) (Geneticheskiye resursy roda Beta L. [Svekla]). St. Petersburg: VIR; 2007. [in Russian]

2. Casique-Arroyo G., Martinez-Gallardo N., González de la Vara L., Délano-Frier J.P. Betacyanin biosynthetic genes and enzymes are differentially induced by (a)biotic stress in Amaranthus hypochondriacus. PLoS One. 2014;9(6):e99012. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099012

3. Chesnokova N.Yu., Kuznetsova A.A., Levochkina L.V., Tarabaev M.A. Properties and application of betalaine dye isolated from regional beet variety. Agrarian Science. 2023;374(9):185-190. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.32634/0869-8155-2023-374-9-185-190

4. Das M., Saeid A., Hossain M.F., Jiang G.H., Eun J.B., Ahmed M. Influence of extraction parameters and stability of betacyanins extracted from red amaranth during storage. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2018;56(2):643-653. DOI: 10.1007/s13197-018-3519-x

5. Hammer Ø., Harper D.A.T., Ryan P.D. PAST: Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica. 2001;4(1):1-9. http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/past/issue1_01.htm

6. Hayakawa K., Agarie S. Physiological roles of betacyanin in a halophyte, Suaeda japonica Makino. Plant Production Science. 2010;13(4):351-359. DOI: 10.1626/pps.13.351

7. Herbach K.M., Stintzing F.C., Carle R. Betalain stability and degradation – structural and chromatic aspects. Journal of Food Science. 2006;71(4):R41-R50. DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00022.x

8. Herbach K.M., Stintzing F.C., Carle R. Impact of thermal treatment on color and pigment pattern of red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) preparations. Journal of Food Science. 2004;69(6):491-498. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb10994.x

9. Khan M.I., Giridhar P. Plant betalains: Chemistry and biochemistry. Phytochemistry. 2015;117:267-295. DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2015.06.008

10. Koldaev V.M. Dynamics of changes in the content of betalain pigments in red beet roots during the growing season and storage. Vegetable Crops of Russia. 2023;(3):10-15. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.18619/2072-9146-2023-3-10-15

11. Kopytko Ya.F., Tolkachev O.N. Location in nature, cell cultures, application and pharmacological action of betalains and their derivatives. Traditional Medicine. 2020;2(61):52-59. [in Russian]

12. Lin X., Li B., Wen J., Wu J., Tang D., Yu Y. et al. Storage stability and in vitro bioaccessibility of liposomal betacyanins from Red Pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus). Molecules. 2022;27(4):1193. DOI: 10.3390/molecules27041193

13. Litvinov S.S. Scientific foundations of modern vegetable growing (Nauchnye osnovy sovremennogo ovoshchevodstva). Moscow: VNIIO; 2008. [in Russian]

14. Minzanova S.T., Mironov V.F., Tsepaeva O.V., Vyshtakaluk A.B., Mindubaev A.Z., Mironova L.G. et al. Phytogenous betalaine pigments: isolation, structure and chemical properties. Butlerov Communications. 2010;19(2):1-11. [in Russian]

15. Miyagawa Y., Fujita H., Adachi S. Kinetic analysis of thermal degradation of betanin at various pH values using deconvolution method. Food Chemistry. 2021;361:130165. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130165

16. Paunovic D., Stojanovic B., Dimitrijevic D., Kristic J., Kostic D. Betalains – natural pigments for healthy food. Chemia Naissensis. 2020;3(1):32-49. DOI: 10.46793/ChemN3.1.032P

17. Saenko I.I., Tarasenko D.V., Deineka V.I., Deineka K.A. Betacyanins of red beetroot root. Belgorod State University Scientific Bulletin. Natural Sciences. 2012;3(122):194-200. [in Russian]

18. Sepúlveda-Jiménez G., Rueda- Benítez P., Porta H., Rocha-Sosa M. Betacyanin synthesis in red beet (Beta vulgaris) leaves induced by wounding and bacterial infiltration is preceded by an oxidative burst. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology. 2004;64(3):125-133. DOI: 10.1016/j.pmpp.2004.08.003

19. Shachek T.M., Protasenya L.N., Zelenkova E.N. Applications of plant-derived colorant betanin in the coloration of cosmetics. Food Industry: Science and Technologies. 2023;16(3):67-78. [in Russian]

20. Slimen I.B., Najar T., Abderradda M. Chemical and antioxidant properties of betalains. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2017;65(4):675-689. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b04208

21. Sokolova D.V. Dynamic changes in betanin content during the growing season of table beet: their interplay with abiotic factors. Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 2022;26(1):30-39. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.18699/VJGB-22-05

22. Sokolova D.V., Shvachko N.A., Mikhailova A.S., Popov V.S. Betalain content and morphological characteristics of table beet accessions: their interplay with abiotic factors. Agronomy. 2022;12(5):1033. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12051033

23. Strack D., Vogt T., Schliemann W. Recent advances in betalain research. ChemInform. 2003;62(3):247-269. DOI: 10.1002/chin.200319225

24. Timakova L.N., Dolgopolova M.A. Breeding of table beet in All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable Growing ‒ branch of Branch of the FSBSI Federal Scientific Vegetable Center: main directions and results. News of FSVC. 2020;(2):21-26. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.18619/2658-4832-2020-2-21-26

25. Ustinova Yu.V., Shevchenko T.V., Popov A.M., Plotnikov K.B. Properties and application of natural betalain dyes. Technologies for the Food and Processing Industry of AIC – Healthy Food. 2021;(4):72-79. [in Russian]. DOI: 10.24412/2311-6447-2021-4-72-79

26. Valeeva D.I., Sattikhodzhaev H., Shvink K.Yu., Gumerov T.Yu., Reshetnik O.A., Utkin A.V. The effect of pH on the concentration of betalain pigments of plant origin (Vliyaniye pH sredy na kontsentratsiyu betalainovykh pigmentov rastitelnogo proiskhozhdeniya). Nauchnoye obozreniye. Fundamentalnye i prikladnye issledovaniya = Scientific Review. Fundamental and Applied Research. 2019;(2):ID55. [in Russian]. URL: https://scientificreview.ru/ru/article/view?id=55 [дата обращения: 29.03.2025].

27. Vogt T., Ibdah M., Schmidt J., Wray V., Nimtz M., Strack D. Light-induced betacyanin and flavonol accumulation in bladder cells of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. Phytochemistry. 1999;52(4):583-592. DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9422(99)00151-x

28. Wang C.Q., Zhao J.Q., Chen M., Wang B.S. Identification of betacyanin and effects of environmental factors on its accumulation in halophyte Suaeda salsa. Journal of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology. 2006;32(2):195-201.

29. Yang W., Kaimainen M., Järvenpää E., Sandell M., Huopalahti R., Yang B. et al. Red beet (Beta vulgaris) betalains and grape (Vitis vinifera) anthocyanins as colorants in white currant juice – Effect of storage on degradation kinetics, color stability and sensory properties. Food Chemistry. 2021;348:128995. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128995