Betalains: What They Are, Food Sources & What Research Shows

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Betalains are naturally occurring plant pigments best known for producing the deep red, violet, yellow, and orange colors found in foods such as red beets, prickly pear, and some varieties of dragon fruit.

These pigments have attracted scientific interest not only because of their color, but also because of their chemical properties and potential biological activity.

But the presence of betalains in a food does not automatically mean that the food produces a particular health effect. Research involving isolated betalains, betalain-rich extracts, beetroot, and other betalain-containing foods must be interpreted separately because these preparations can differ substantially in composition.

What Are Betalains?

Betalains are a group of naturally occurring, water-soluble plant pigments found primarily in species within the order Caryophyllales.

They are responsible for many of the red, violet, yellow, and orange colors seen in foods such as beetroot, prickly pear, and some varieties of dragon fruit.

Betalains are generally divided into two major groups:

• Betacyanins — pigments that typically produce red-to-violet colors. Betanin, the dominant red pigment in many beets, is one of the best-known examples.
• Betaxanthins — pigments that typically produce yellow-to-orange colors. These include compounds such as vulgaxanthins and indicaxanthin.

Betalains are chemically distinct from anthocyanins, another major group of red, blue, and purple plant pigments. Although both can contribute vivid coloration to plant foods, they differ in structure, distribution, and metabolism.

The amount and type of betalains present in a food can vary depending on the plant species, cultivar, growing conditions, maturity, processing, and storage.

What Foods Contain Betalains?

Betalains occur in a relatively limited group of edible plants compared with more widely distributed pigments such as anthocyanins.

Some of the best-known dietary sources include:

• Red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) — one of the most familiar and well-studied food sources of betalains, including betacyanins and betaxanthins.
• Prickly pear and other cactus fruits (Opuntia species) — can contain both red-violet betacyanins and yellow-orange betaxanthins, depending on the variety.
• Red-fleshed dragon fruit — some varieties contain substantial amounts of betacyanin pigments.
• Amaranth — certain leafy and grain varieties contain betalains.
• Colored Swiss chard — another member of the beet family that can contain betalain pigments.

Not every red, purple, or brightly colored fruit contains betalains. Many foods with similar colors—including blueberries, tart cherries, grapes, cranberries, and pomegranates—derive much of their color from other pigment families such as anthocyanins.

The specific amount and type of betalains in a food can vary with plant variety, growing conditions, ripeness, processing, and storage.

Betalains in Beetroot

Beetroot is one of the best-known dietary sources of betalains. Its characteristic red and violet colors are largely associated with betacyanin pigments such as betanin, while yellow and orange beet varieties can contain higher proportions of betaxanthins.

Beets also contain other naturally occurring compounds, including dietary nitrates, betaine, phenolic compounds, minerals, sugars, and organic acids.

That matters when interpreting beetroot research.

If a study gives participants whole beetroot, beet juice, or a beet-based concentrate and reports a change in blood pressure, blood flow, exercise performance, or another outcome, the result cannot automatically be attributed to betalains alone. Other beet constituents—especially dietary nitrate—may also contribute.

Researchers sometimes address this by using purified betalains, betalain-rich extracts, or nitrate-depleted beet preparations. These study materials can help isolate specific compounds, but they should not be treated as equivalent to whole beetroot or conventional beet juice.

This is an important principle in nutrition research: a finding from a whole food does not necessarily prove that one individual compound caused the observed effect.

Are Betalains Antioxidants?

Betalains have demonstrated antioxidant activity in laboratory and chemical testing systems. Researchers have studied their ability to interact with reactive chemical species and to participate in redox reactions under controlled experimental conditions.

However, laboratory antioxidant activity is not the same as proving an antioxidant effect throughout the human body.

Once betalains are consumed, they must pass through digestion and absorption, and they may be transformed into metabolites before reaching tissues. Factors such as the food matrix, dose, gut microorganisms, individual metabolism, and the specific betalain compound can all influence what the body is actually exposed to.

Human studies have detected betalains and related metabolites in blood and urine after consumption of betalain-containing foods, but measured absorption and recovery can vary considerably.

For that reason, statements such as “betalains are antioxidants” are most accurate when describing their chemical properties and laboratory behavior. Claims about specific health outcomes require separate human evidence.

This distinction is similar to the broader difference between antioxidant compounds and health effects discussed in our Antioxidants, Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress guide.

Betalain Health Benefits: What Does the Research Actually Show?

Betalains have been studied in laboratory experiments, animal models, and a smaller number of human trials. Areas of interest include vascular function, exercise and recovery, inflammatory biomarkers, and cardiometabolic measurements.

The evidence is not equally strong across these areas. Study preparations also differ substantially: some research uses purified betalains or betalain-rich extracts, while other studies use beetroot, cactus fruit, dragon fruit, or other whole-food preparations.

Because these materials contain different combinations of compounds, results from one study should not automatically be applied to all betalain-containing foods or products.

Vascular Function

Researchers have investigated whether betalain-rich foods or preparations influence measurements related to blood-vessel function.

In one randomized crossover trial involving healthy adults, researchers studied a betalain-rich red dragon fruit preparation and reported changes in measures of endothelial function and arterial stiffness compared with a control treatment. Blood pressure, however, did not significantly differ between treatments.

This distinction is important. A study may show a change in a particular vascular measurement without demonstrating a broader cardiovascular health benefit.

The study was also relatively small and short-term, so its findings should be viewed as preliminary rather than proof that betalains improve cardiovascular health in the general population.

Exercise & Recovery Research

Betalain-rich preparations have also been studied in exercise settings, including endurance performance, perceived exertion, muscle oxygenation, and post-exercise recovery markers.

Some small randomized trials have reported favorable differences in selected outcomes after consumption of betalain-rich concentrates. These have included measures such as running performance, fatigue, creatine kinase, heart rate, perceived exertion, or muscle oxygenation.

However, not every measured outcome has improved consistently.

For example, a more recent randomized crossover trial found that a single dose of a betalain-rich concentrate did not significantly improve running economy or maximal oxygen uptake. Researchers did report differences in several secondary measures, including heart rate, perceived exertion, and post-exercise muscle oxygenation.

These findings illustrate why exercise studies should be interpreted outcome by outcome. A study can report favorable changes in some measurements while showing no significant effect in others.

The available human research is still relatively limited, and study products, doses, participant groups, and exercise protocols differ. More research is needed before firm conclusions can be made about betalains and exercise performance or recovery.

Inflammation & Related Biomarkers

Betalains have also been studied in relation to inflammatory signaling and biomarkers associated with oxidative and inflammatory processes.

Laboratory and animal studies have reported effects on pathways and molecules involved in inflammation, including cytokines and enzymes that participate in inflammatory responses. These findings help researchers understand possible mechanisms, but they do not by themselves demonstrate a clinical benefit in people.

A smaller number of human studies have measured changes in inflammatory or oxidative-stress-related biomarkers after consumption of betalain-rich foods or extracts. Some have reported favorable changes, while others have found limited or inconsistent effects.

It is also important to distinguish between a change in a laboratory biomarker and an improvement in a person's symptoms, function, or long-term health. These are different levels of evidence.

For that reason, the current research is better described as evidence that betalains are being investigated for their potential influence on inflammatory and oxidative processes—not as proof that betalains treat inflammation or inflammatory conditions.

Cardiometabolic Research

Researchers have also studied betalain-rich foods and extracts in relation to cardiometabolic measurements such as blood pressure, blood lipids, blood glucose, homocysteine, and other markers associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Some small human studies have reported favorable changes in selected measurements after consumption of betalain-rich preparations. However, the findings are not uniform, and study designs vary widely in the type of preparation used, dose, duration, participant characteristics, and outcomes measured.

It is especially important to interpret beetroot studies carefully because beetroot contains several biologically active compounds in addition to betalains, including dietary nitrate and betaine. When a study uses whole beetroot or conventional beet juice, an observed effect cannot automatically be attributed to betalains alone.

Some studies have also involved participants with existing cardiovascular or metabolic conditions. Results from those populations should not automatically be generalized to healthy adults.

Overall, the research supports continued investigation of betalains and betalain-rich foods, but it does not establish that betalains prevent, treat, or cure cardiovascular or metabolic disease.

Betalains vs. Nitrates in Beetroot Research

Betalains and dietary nitrates are different compounds, even though both can occur naturally in beetroot.

Betalains are pigments. They contribute much of the red, violet, yellow, and orange coloration found in betalain-containing plants.

Dietary nitrates are inorganic compounds. In the body, nitrate can participate in the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway, which is frequently studied in relation to blood flow, vascular function, and exercise physiology.

Because ordinary beetroot and beet juice can contain both betalains and nitrates, studies using whole beet products may not be able to determine which constituent—or combination of constituents—contributed to an observed result.

Researchers sometimes use nitrate-depleted beet preparations or more purified betalain-rich extracts when they want to investigate betalains more specifically. Even then, differences in formulation, dose, and study design can make direct comparisons difficult.

This is why findings from beetroot research should not automatically be described as “betalain benefits.” The preparation tested matters.

Learn more about this separate class of beet compounds in our Nitrates guide.

How Processing and Storage Can Affect Betalains

Betalain pigments are sensitive to their processing and storage environment. Their stability can be influenced by factors such as temperature, light, oxygen exposure, pH, water activity, and the length of storage.

Heat can accelerate betalain degradation, especially under prolonged or intense processing conditions. Light and oxygen can also contribute to pigment loss over time, while acidity and the surrounding food matrix may affect how stable particular betalain compounds remain.

That means the betalain content measured in a fresh plant may not be identical to the amount present after juicing, concentrating, drying, cooking, or extended storage.

For this reason, scientific studies that evaluate betalain-containing foods often report not only the plant source, but also how the material was processed, stored, and analyzed.

It is also important not to assume that a darker or more intensely colored beet product necessarily contains a specific amount of betalains. Color can provide clues about pigment composition, but a quantitative betalain value requires analytical testing.

Are Betalains Absorbed by the Body?

Human studies indicate that at least some betalain compounds can be absorbed after people consume betalain-containing foods or preparations.

Researchers have detected betalains or related metabolites in blood and urine after consumption of foods such as beetroot and cactus fruit. However, the amount recovered can be relatively low and varies among studies and individuals.

Several factors can influence betalain bioavailability, including the specific compound, dose, food matrix, digestion, metabolism, gut microorganisms, and the way the food or extract was processed.

This matters because strong antioxidant activity measured in a test tube does not tell us how much of a compound reaches human tissues, how long it remains there, or whether it produces a meaningful physiological effect.

Bioavailability research helps bridge that gap, but it is only one part of evaluating whether a compound has a demonstrated health effect in people.

Frequently Asked Questions About Betalains

How to Evaluate Betalain Research

When reading a study about betalains, one of the most important questions is: What exactly did the researchers test?

Studies may use purified betanin, isolated betalain compounds, betalain-rich extracts, nitrate-depleted beet preparations, whole beetroot, beet juice, cactus fruit, dragon fruit, or other foods and preparations. These materials are not interchangeable.

It also helps to look at several other details:

• Study population — Were the participants healthy adults, trained athletes, older adults, or people with an existing health condition?
• Dose — How much of the test preparation was consumed, and how much betalain did it actually contain?
• Duration — Was the study based on a single dose, several days, or a longer intervention?
• Comparison treatment — Was there a placebo or control group?
• Outcomes measured — Did researchers measure a laboratory biomarker, blood pressure, exercise performance, symptoms, or a longer-term clinical outcome?
• Other active compounds — Did the food or preparation also contain nitrate, polyphenols, betaine, or other constituents that may have influenced the result?

The type of evidence matters as well. Laboratory antioxidant activity, changes in a blood biomarker, improvements in a physiological measurement, and improvements in a clinical health outcome are different levels of evidence.

For example, showing that a betalain compound can neutralize reactive molecules in a laboratory experiment does not prove that consuming a betalain-containing food will prevent a disease or produce the same effect in the human body.

Similarly, a finding from whole beetroot does not automatically establish that betalains were responsible for the outcome.

Strong conclusions generally require consistent findings across well-designed human studies using clearly characterized preparations and relevant outcomes.

Continue Exploring Fruit Compounds

Betalains are only one group of naturally occurring compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Related FruitFast guides can help place them in a broader nutrition and plant-compound context.

Nitrates →
Learn about naturally occurring dietary nitrate in beetroot and why researchers study the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway.

Betaine →
Explore another naturally occurring compound found in beets and other foods.

Anthocyanins →
Learn about the red, blue, and purple pigments commonly found in berries, tart cherries, grapes, cranberries, and other fruits.

Antioxidants, Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress →
Explore what antioxidant activity means, how oxidative stress is studied, and why laboratory antioxidant measurements should not automatically be interpreted as health outcomes.

Fruit Compound Library →
Browse FruitFast educational guides to naturally occurring pigments, polyphenols, nutrients, and other compounds found in plant foods.

Health Information & Fruit Nutrition Research →
Explore FruitFast educational resources covering fruits, nutrition, scientific research, and how to interpret health-related evidence.

Scientific References & Sources

The following publications are provided so readers can review the underlying research and scientific context discussed on this page. Findings from these studies should not be assumed to apply to a particular FruitFast product unless that specific product was tested.

1. Sadowska-Bartosz I, Bartosz G. Biological Properties and Applications of Betalains. Molecules. 2021;26(9):2520. doi:10.3390/molecules26092520.

2. Clifford T, Constantinou CM, Keane KM, West DJ, Howatson G, Stevenson EJ. The plasma bioavailability of nitrate and betanin from Beta vulgaris rubra in humans. European Journal of Nutrition. 2017;56(3):1245-1254. doi:10.1007/s00394-016-1173-5.

3. Cheok A, Xu Y, Zhang Z, et al. Betalain-rich dragon fruit (pitaya) consumption improves vascular function in men and women: a double-blind, randomized controlled crossover trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2022;115(5):1418-1431.

4. Montenegro CF, Kwong DA, Minow ZA, et al. Betalain-rich concentrate supplementation improves exercise performance and recovery in competitive triathletes. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2017;42(2):166-172.

5. Vitti S, Bruneau M Jr, Bisgrove L, et al. Effects of a single dose of a betalain-rich concentrate on determinants of running performance and recovery muscle blood flow: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2025;125(7):1809-1816. doi:10.1007/s00421-025-05738-w.

6. Rahimi P, Mesbah-Namin SA, Ostadrahimi A, et al. Effects of betalains on atherogenic risk factors in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Food & Function. 2019;10(12):8286-8297. doi:10.1039/C9FO02020A.