Betaeine (betalaine) is a natural pigment obtained from pure edible red beetroot (beetroot) using water as the solvent. The main component of betanin is betanin glycoside, accounting for 75%~95% of the pigment, and there may also be scattered betanin. Betaine also contains beetroot lecithin, isobetanin, red glycoside, and other components. Protobetanin is a pyridine compound. Betaine is soluble in strong electrolytes and insoluble in vegetable oils.

Component structure

The pigment extracted from red beetroot is a natural plant pigment found in red beetroot, composed of red beetroot pigment and light yellow beetroot lecithin. The main component of betanin is betanin glycoside, accounting for 75-95% of the pigment, with the rest being light yellow beetroot lecithin, isobetanin, protobetanin, isoprotobetanin, and solubility substances of beetroot pigment. Beetroot lecithin includes lecithin I and lecithin II. It is a pyridine compound.

Physical and chemical properties

Betanin is a red to pale purple liquid, solid, or powdered substance, soluble in strong electrolytes, difficult to dissolve in glacial acetic acid and propylene glycol, and insoluble in alcohol, vaseline, and vegetable oils. The maximum digestion and absorption wavelength of betanin is 538nm. The pigment extracted from red beetroot is red-violet when dissolved in strong electrolytes and stable within the pH range of 4.0 to 7.0; the color of the aqueous solution changes from red to purple when the pH is below 4.0 or above 7.0; when the pH exceeds 10.0, the color of the aqueous solution rapidly turns yellow, at which point betanin is converted into beetroot lecithin. Light, oxygen, and metal ions can promote its solubility. The water content specificity has a significant impact on the reliability of the pigment extracted from red beetroot, with its reliability increasing as the water content specificity decreases. Ascorbic acid has certain protective effects on betanin.

Common questions

The pigment extracted from red beetroot has excellent coloring properties for food, capable of imparting a bright red color reminiscent of plum wine or rose petals. The allowable usage in China is determined according to the normal production needs. However, due to its weak heat resistance, it is not suitable for use in high-temperature production and processing of food. Its reliability decreases with the increase of water content in food, so it is not suitable for carbonated beverages, fruit juices, and other drinks. In China, the application scope and large demand for this product include orange-flavored beverages (liquid, solid), fruit juice beverages, carbonated drinks, prepared wines, sugar cubes, decorated confectionery products, red and green threads, canned fruits, concentrated juice, umeboshi, ice cream, ice cream, sweet crystal jelly, and waffle cookie filling chocolates, all of which are used according to normal production needs. When used for coloring cold drinks such as popsicles, the usage is about 0.5g/kg. For food requiring heat treatment such as sugar cubes, it is added after cooling or conditioning, with a usage of 1g/kg for hard candy and 0.5g/kg for pectin filling sugar. In addition, it can also be used in salad dressings, seasoning, tea drinks, decorated confectionery products, and other applications. The large demand for use in flavored yogurt is 0.8g/kg.