Phytochemical Betanin, the Potent Antioxidant

By Kyle J. Norton


Antioxidants are stable atoms which inhibit oxidation induced by free radicals.

There are 2 types of antioxidants found in the human body, including

* Internally, antioxidant enzymes produced by the liver 

* Externally, antioxidants produced by the intake of antioxidants rich food.

Free radicals, in fact, are everywhere, any atoms with oxygen molecules that have an unpaired electron on the outermost ring are considered free radicals.

Free radicals are unstable atoms. Therefore, in order to maintain stable, free radicals are ready to donate or intercept an electron from other stable atoms, leading to a chain of reaction which can not be stopped until all outermost ring electrons are paired or inhibited by antioxidant.

An unbalanced ratio of  the levels of free radicals and antioxidants over the long-term can induce oxidative stress, a condition that causes protein and lipid damage and alternation of cell DNA.

In a healthy individual, antioxidants produced by the body are normally good enough to neutralize by free radical produced by the body in support cellular metabolism and by external sources, such as the air we breathe and the foods we eat.

Diseases associated with oxidative stress including cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and cancer.

However, for people with a weakened immune system such as elderly, intake of antioxidants may be necessary.

Dr. wrote, "Oxidant-mediated tissue injury is a particular hazard to the immune system since phagocytic cells produce reactive oxygen species as part of the body's defense against infection".

And, " Although more striking effects have been observed in the elderly, there is also evidence that antioxidant nutrients can modify cell-mediated immune responses in younger individuals".

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 associated with the reduced risk of oxidative stress, researchers examined the antioxidant activity of betanin on a rat paraquat-induced acute lung injury (ALI) model.

The study included paraquat injected intraperitoneally at a single dose of 20 mg/kg body weight, and betanin (25 and 100 mg/kg/d) following the orally administered 3 days before and 2 days after paraquat administration in selected rats.

According to the results by tested assays on rats sacrificed 24 hours after the last betanin dosage, and lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected, rats treated only with paraquat showed an extensive lung injury characteristic of ALI, including increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels, lung oxidative stress markers, reduced antioxidant activity and increased expression of pro-inflammatory proteins in the lung.

Rat treated with betanin attenuated all such changes, in a dose-dependent manner.

In other words, betanin ameliorated the effects of paraquat-induced ALI probably via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

In order to maintain the release of betanin, researchers incorporated red beetroot (RB) powder was into starch-based bio-elastomers to obtain flexible biocomposites with tunable antioxidant properties.

According to free radical assays, betanin released by the corporation demonstrated highly efficient antioxidant scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation (ABTS(+)) compared to the application of red beetroot (RB) powder.

More precisely, red beetroot (RB) powder incorporated into starch-based bio-elastomers is more effective to inhibit oxidation caused by free radicals compared to red beetroot (RB) powder.

Based on the results, Dr. Tran TN, the lead scientist wrote, "Hence, as a simple but intelligent biomaterial consisting of mainly edible starch and RB powder the present bio-elastomers can be used (to provide antioxidation) in active packaging for a variety of pharmaceutical, medical, and food applications".

Taken altogether, betanin may be considered supplements to improve the antioxidant profile of patients, 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) Natural antioxidant betanin protects rats from paraquat-induced acute lung injury interstitial pneumonia by Han J1, Ma D1, Zhang M1, Yang X1, Tan D. (PubMed)
(2) Starch-based bio-elastomers functionalized with red beetroot natural antioxidant by Tran TN1, Athanassiou A2, Basit A3, Bayer IS. (PubMed)
(3) Effects of dietary antioxidants on the immune function of middle-aged adults by Hughes DA. (PubMed)