Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is crop belonging to the Chenopodiaceae family having, bright crimson color. Beetroot is grown for food uses (pickles, salad, juice) rather than for sugar production. In contrast to other fruits, the main sugar in beetroot is sucrose with only small amounts of glucose and fructose.
Beet juice is a popular health food betanins, obtained from the roots, are used industrially as red food colorants e.g. to improve the color of tomato paste, sauces, desserts, jams and jellies, ice cream, sweets and cereals. Red beet also makes a rich, red, Burgundy style wine.
Many researches have provided compelling evidence that beetroot ingestion offers beneficial physiological effects that may translate to improved clinical outcomes for several pathologies, such as; hypertension, atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and dementia. Hypertension in particular has been the target of many therapeutic interventions and there are numerous studies that show beetroot, delivered acutely as a juice supplement or in bread significantly reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The intense red color of beetroots derives from high concentrations of betalains, a group of phenolic secondary plant metabolites. Betalains are used as natural colorants by the food industry, but have also received increasing attention due to possible health benefits in humans, especially their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
The total betalain content was found to range between 0.8 and 1.3 g/L fresh juice (about 60% betacyanins and 40% betaxanthins) that accounted for 70–100% of the total phenolics content. Other phenolics were hydroxycinnamic acids, which accounted for up to 2.6% of total phenolics.
A number of studies report that beetroot, in the form of a juice supplement, protects against oxidative damage to DNA, lipid and protein structures in vitro. In 2011 study suggests that a key mechanism by which beetroot juice exerts its antioxidant effects is by scavenging radical species.
Effects of a commercially available beetroot juice on inflammation is strongly involved in the development and progression of several clinical conditions including coronary heart disease and cancer, beneficial effect of beetroot extract may relate to this anti-inflammatory capacity.
Beetroot juice: Uses and health benefits
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