Phytochemical Betanin, a Natural Plant-Based Antioxidant that Prevents Oxidative Stress Developing

By Kyle J. Norton

Oxidative stress is a condition caused by an imbalance of the ratio of free radical and antioxidant in the body.

In other words, oxidative stress is either caused by overexpression of free radical or depletion of antioxidant enzymes in the body.

Some researchers suggested that oxidative stress may also arise due to the chain reaction of free radicals in which free radicals donate or intercept an electron from other stable molecules.

Long-term oxidative stress presented in the body can cause protein and lipid damage and alternation of cell DNA, leading to the onset of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

More precisely, exogenous factors, such as cigarette smoke, and endogenous factors, such as the oxidative burst from activated macrophages are some of the factors involved in the risk of oxidative stress.

The Liver Pathophysiology, 2017 in the explanation of the cause of oxidative stress, wrote, " (1) the presence of xenobiotics, (2) the activation of the immune system in response to invading microorganisms (inflammation), and (3) radiation, which makes oxidative stress a common denominator of toxicity or stress".

In other words, oxidative stress may be preventable by following a diet with rich in antioxidants such as a diet with higher fruits and vegetable consumption accompanied by moderate exercise and reducing intake of saturated and trans fat and processed foods.

Betanin is phytochemicals in the class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments of Betacyanins, belonging to the group of Betalains, found abundantly in beets, chard, etc.

With an aim to find a potential compound for the prevention of diseases associated with oxidative stress, researchers examined the effects of natural pigment betanin on oxidative stress in the kidney of paraquat-treated rat.

Paraquat injected intraperitoneally induce renal damage rats were randomly divided into four groups: a control group, a paraquat group, and two paraquat groups that were treated with betanin at 25 and 100 mg/kg/d three days before and two days after paraquat administration.

Betanin treated rats showed strong activity in alleviating the paraquat-incurred acute kidney injury, observed by the improvement, reduced serum and urine markers that indicate a kidney injury.

Betanin also decreased oxidative stress elicited by paraquat by increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host accompanied by inhibiting the levels of free radicals.

These results suggested that betanin protects the tested rats against kidney damage due to oxidative stress in the induction of chronic inflammation.

In streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes (DN) in rats, researchers examined the betanin anti-fibrotic mechanisms in rat kidney.

Betanin at a dose of 25, 50 and 100mg/kg/day and lisinopril (5mg/kg/day, reference compound) orally administered for 8 weeks after the induction of DN, not only significantly inhibited proteinuria, blood glucose, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels involved in kidney injury, but also restored antioxidant enzyme activities in kidney tissue.

Additionally, betanin treatment also protected the kidney integrity by reducing the glomerular surface area, glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis.

In other words, betanin demonstrated the kidney protective activity against streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes (DN) in rats through regulation of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) in facilitating anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity.

Taken altogether, betanin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, pending to the confirmation of larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of betanin in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Betanin attenuates oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction in kidney of paraquat-treated rat by Tan D1, Wang Y2, Bai B1, Yang X2, Han J. (PubMed)
(2) Betanin, isolated from fruits of Opuntia elatior Mill attenuates renal fibrosis in diabetic rats through regulating oxidative stress and TGF-β pathway by Sutariya B1, Saraf M2.(PubMed)
(3) Oxidative Stress, From Liver Pathophysiology, 2017. (Science Direct)