Betanin, the main pigment of red beet: Molecular origin of its exceptionally high free radical-scavenging activity

Abstract

In the present study, the pH-dependent free radical-scavenging activity of betanin in the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay was determined. It was found that at a pH > 4 betanin is about 1.5–2.0-fold more active than some anthocyanins considered very good free radical scavengers as determined in the TEAC assay. The increase in the TEAC values of betanin with increasing pH is discussed in terms of its calculated phenolic OH homolytic bond dissociation energy (BDE) and ionization potential (IP). The results suggest that the exceptionally high antioxidant activity of betanin is associated with an increasing of its H-donation and electron-donation ability when going from cationic state to mono-, di- and tri-deprotonated states present at basic solutions.

Keywords:

• Betanin(s)
• pH-dependent free radical-scavenging activity
• Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) value
• DFT calculations

Acknowledgements

The paper was originally presented as a poster at the 2nd International Symposium on ‘Recent Advances in Food Analysis’, Prague, Czech Republic, 2–4 November 2005.