Betalains are a class of water-soluble pigments found in a significant number of plants,
including the beetroot and many other plants in the Caryophyllales order. The name "betalain" comes from Beta vulgaris,
the scientific name for the beetroot, which is the most common source of betalains.
Betalains are divided into two categories:
Betacyanins: These pigments range in colour from violet to red. Betanin is the most common betacyanin and is responsible for the
deep red colour of beets.
Betaxanthins: These pigments are yellow to orange. Indicaxanthin is a common betaxanthin found in plants like beets and Swiss chard.
Betalains play several roles in the plants where they are found:
Pigmentation -
Betalains provide bright red to violet and yellow colours, playing a vital role in attracting pollinators.
Protection - Betalains help protect the plant from UV
radiation damage and are involved in plant response to stress.
Betalains are mutually-exclusive with anthocyanins, another group of pigments that provide colouration to many other plants.
In addition to their roles in plants, betalains are valued for their potential health benefits.
They have antioxidant properties, meaning they can protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals.
They may also have anti-inflammatory effects and may contribute to detoxification processes in the body.
As such, they are often used as natural food colourants and in nutritional supplements.
Examples of some fruits and vegetables that contain betalains are given below:
Beets -
One of the richest sources of betalains, especially betacyanins, which give them their characteristic deep red color.
Beets also contain betaxanthins.
Swiss Chard - Both the red and yellow varieties of Swiss chard contain betalains.
Red Swiss chard is rich in betacyanins, while yellow Swiss chard contains betaxanthins.
Prickly Pear - lso known as cactus fruit, prickly pears contain both
betacyanins and betaxanthins. The exact amount and type depend on the variety, with red-purple varieties containing more
betacyanins and yellow-orange varieties containing more betaxanthins.
Pitahaya (Dragon Fruit) - This tropical fruit, especially the red-fleshed variety,
contains betacyanins.
Golden Beets - These contain betaxanthins, which provide their yellow color.
Rhubarb - The red stalks of rhubarb contain betacyanins.
The extraction process, including the solvents and methods used, can influence the concentration and types of betalains present in the final extract.
It is often the case that a balance needs to be found between fully-extracting all betalains while also ensuring that the compounds that are
obtained are of a high quality and not degraded.
At Celignis we have extensive experience in the design and optimisation of extraction protocols for a wide variety of chemical constituents from
many different biomass types. If needed we can also work on processes to separate and purify the target compounds.
Click here to read more about Celignis's Bioprocess Development Services for the extraction of
chemicals from biomass.
€1.6m Funding Success for Celignis in 2024 CBE-JU Calls
We have secured funding for involvement in 4 collaborative research projects
We are delighted to announce that Celignis has been successful in 4 project proposals submitted for funding to the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) programme.
These projects will provide funding of 1.6m EUR to Celignis over the next few years and build upon the 3 projects (worth 1.5m EUR) we secured last year and the 4 previous CBE/BBI projects that Celignis participated in.
Details on the projects are provided below:
WoodVALOR - This RIA project concerns the valorisation of contaminated/post-consumer wood waste (WW) via: (i) thermal conversion to biochar; and (ii) fractionation followed by conversions to paints & coatings ingredients. Celignis is involved in the chemo-enzymatic fractionation of decontaminated wood (DW) to sequentially extract/purify lignin and hemicellulose, and in developing hemicellulose-based emulsifiers/stabilizers and binder monomers for industrial formulations. Additionally, Celignis is involved in metals/mineral recovery from decontamination wastewater using
New Publication from a Celignis Bioprocess Development Project
The article, available in "Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery" is entitled "Process development for efficient pectin extraction from tobacco residues and its characterisation"
We are please to announce the publication of a peer-reviewed scientific article based on some of the research outputs of a Bioprocess Development Service (BDS) project undertaken by Celignis.
The article, entitled "Process development for efficient pectin extraction from tobacco residues and its characterisation" details the results of experiments targeting the optimised extraction of pectin from the laminae of a number of different varieties of tobacco plants. These tobacco-derived pectins were found to have a medium molecular weight and low methoxy content and our findings indicated that this feedstock could be suitable for the production of pectin with dietary applications.
Meeting takes place at the coordinator's (ITA) headquarters in Zaragoza, SPAIN
Celignis personnel are today attending the kick-off meeting of the CBE-JU project MANUREFINERY at the facilities of the project's coordinator (ITA) in Zaragoza, Spain.
MANUREFINERY concerns the development of a small, decentralised, modular biorefinery concept for farms that converts manure and ammonia emissions into seven marketable bio-ingredients (animal-feed proteins, caproic acid, and fertiliser salts/ashes). The solution integrates fixed/mobile units across three valorisation lines (gas, liquid, solid) and a digital twin for optimisation and scale-up, targeting TRL6-7 validation on four EU demo farms.
Celignis has a number of key roles in the project, including:
- Comprehensive analysis of the feedstocks and products of the process.
Meeting takes place at the coordinator's (AIMPLAS) headquarters in Valencia, Spain
PROMOFER, is an Innovation Action project funded by the CBE-JU, under topic HORIZON-JU-CBE-2023-IA-03 (Improve Fermentation Processes (Including Downstream Purification) To Final Bio-Based Products).
This project started in June 2024 with Celignis, an SME partner and full industry BIC member, playing a pivotal role in the project. Our core activities include undertaking the pre-treatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass at scaled-up (TRL7, 1 m3) volumes. The resulting sugars are then provided to other partners for downstream fermentations.
Today Celignis's CIO Lalitha is attending the kick-off meeting of the project, at coordinator AIMPLAS's headquarters in Valencia, Spain.
We're attending the kick-off meeting for BIONEER in Trondheim, Norway (SINTEF)
Lalitha is attending the kick-off meeting of our CBE-JU project BIONEER, located at the coordinator's (SINTEF) premises in Trondheim, Norway.
BIONEER has the title "Scaled-up Production of Next-Generation Carbohydrate-Derived Building Blocks to Enhance the Competitiveness of a Sustainable European Chemicals Industry". It is a 4-year Innovation Action project with 7.5m EUR of funding provided by the CBE-JU.
Celignis plays a key role in BIONEER, being responsible for the scaled-up (TRL7) production of platform chemicals.
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