Betalain Research Study - 3

Distribution of betalain pigments in red blood cells after consumption of cactus pear fruits and increased resistance of the cells to ex vivo induced oxidative hemolysis in humans.Tesoriere L, Butera D, Allegra M, Fazzari M, Livrea MA.

Dipartimento Farmacochimico Tossicologico e Biologico, Facoltà di Farmacia, Università di Palermo, 1 Via C. Forlanini, 90134 Palermo, Italy.

Betalain pigments are bioavailable phytochemicals recently acknowledged as natural radical scavengers. This work, which extends previous research on the postabsorbitive fate of dietary betalains, investigated the distribution of betanin and indicaxanthin in red blood cells (RBCs) isolated from healthy volunteers (n = 8), before and during the 1-8 h interval after a cactus pear fruit meal, and the potential antioxidative activity of the pigments in these cells. A peak concentration of indicaxanthin (1.03 +/- 0.2 microM) was observed in RBCs isolated at 3 h after fruit feeding, whereas the concentration at 5 h was about half, and even smaller amounts were measured at 8 h. Indicaxanthin was not detected at 1 h. Betanin (30.0 +/- 5.2 nM) was found only in RBCs isolated at 3 h from fruit feeding. In comparison with homologous RBCs before fruit ingestion, a significant delay (P < 0.05) of the onset of an ex vivo cumene hydroperoxide (cumOOH)-induced hemolysis was evident in the RBCs isolated at 3 h (33.0 +/- 4.5 min) and at 5 h (16.0 +/- 2.0 min). Neither vitamins C and E nor GSH was modified in the RBCs at any time point. Blood collected from the same volunteers after a 12-h fasting was incubated with the purified betalains in the range of 5-25 microM, to enrich the erythrocytes with either betanin or indicaxanthin, and then the cells were exposed to cumOOH. When compared to the relevant nonenriched cells, the betalain-enriched erythrocytes exhibited an enhanced resistance to the cumOOH-induced hemolysis, which was positively correlated (r (2) = 0.99) to the amount of the incorporated compound. On a micromolar basis, betanin and indicaxanthin showed a comparable effectiveness. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that human RBCs incorporate dietary betalains and support the concept that these phytochemicals may offer antioxidative protection to the cells.

Absorption, excretion, and distribution of dietary antioxidant betalains in LDLs: potential health effects of betalains in humans.Tesoriere L, Allegra M, Butera D, Livrea MA.

Dipartimento Farmacochimico Tossicologico e Biologico, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Betalains were recently identified as natural antioxidants. However, little is known about their bioavailability from dietary sources. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to evaluate the bioavailability of betalains from dietary sources. DESIGN: The plasma kinetics and urinary excretion of betalains were studied in healthy volunteers (n = 8) after a single ingestion of 500 g cactus pear fruit pulp, which provided 28 and 16 mg indicaxanthin and betanin, respectively. The incorporation of betalains in LDL and the resistance of the particles to ex vivo-induced oxidation was also researched. RESULTS: Betanin and indicaxanthin reached their maximum plasma concentrations 3 h after the fruit meal and declined according to first-order kinetics. The half-life of betanin (0.94 +/- 0.07 h) was shorter than that of indicaxanthin (2.36 +/- 0.17 h). Both compounds had disappeared from plasma by 12 h after intake. The urinary excretion of indicaxanthin and betanin over 12 h represented 76 +/- 3.0% and 3.7 +/- 0.2%, respectively, of the ingested compounds. LDL isolated 3 and 5 h after the fruit meal incorporated betalains at concentrations of 100.5 +/- 11 and 50 +/- 7.2 pmol/mg LDL protein, respectively. In addition, the particles appeared more resistant to ex vivo-induced oxidative injury than did the samples isolated before fruit ingestion (P < 0.05)-the higher the amount of betalains incorporated, the higher the resistance. The concentrations of vitamin E and beta-carotene in LDL did not change significantly after fruit ingestion. CONCLUSION: Our results show that cactus pear fruit is a source of bioavailable betalains and suggest that indicaxanthin and betanin may be involved in the observed protection of LDL against ex vivo-induced oxidative modifications.

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