Antiradical Activity of Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) Betalains.

Maciej Spiegel,Zbigniew Sroka,Andrzej Gamian

doi:10.3390/molecules26092439

Abstract

Flavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanidins are widely studied polyphenolics owing to their antiradical activity. Recently, beetroot dyes have drawn an attention as possible radical scavengers, but scant information can be found on this topic. In this study selected compounds were investigated using computational chemistry methods. Implicit water at physiological pH was chosen as the environment of interest. Betalains’ dissociation process and electronic structure were examined, as well as the reactivity in six pathways against some common radicals, such as hydroxyl, hydroperoxide, superoxide, and nitric oxide. The study showed that all carboxyl groups are dissociated in the given conditions. The dissociation process impacts the electronic structure, which has consequences for the overall activity. Highly stabilized conjugated structures favor the electron–accepting type of scavenging reactions, primarily by a radical adduct formation mechanism. Betanidin and indicaxanthin were found to be the most promising of the compounds studied. Nevertheless, the study established the role of betalains as powerful antiradical dietary agents.

Highlights

Oxidation of biological structures is commonly documented as a factor in the incidence of serious age–related morbidities [1]
Deprotonation routes (Table 2) have been calculated according to the methodology provided in Materials and Methods
Com- free energies double mechanisms of several polyphenols. Comparparing for these with our findings indicates that betaxanthin scavenges hydroperoxide using ingthe these our findings indicates that to betaxanthin scavenges hydroperoxide using the HATwith channel at an energy level close that demonstrated by homoprotocatechuic acid, catechol, caffeic acid

Summary

Introduction

Oxidation of biological structures is commonly documented as a factor in the incidence of serious age–related morbidities [1]. The bulk of ROS are radicals whose prooxidant activity originates from the high amount of energy they carry due to the unpaired electron on the valence shell. Such electronic configuration is very unstable, forcing a radical to stabilize itself. The capacity to eradicate oxidants is the primary role of biological compounds present in the cell matrix, e.g., glutathione [4]. When their concentration decreases, biological structures become the subject of an undesirable oxidation process and oxidation stress occurs

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Conclusion