Betalain and phenolic compositions of four beetroot (Beta vulgaris) cultivars

Four cultivars of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris) were evaluated with respect to their betalain and phenolic contents. The compounds were analysed using HPLC and identified by HPLC-DAD, HPLC-ESI-MS and NMR techniques. Betalains (vulgaxanthins I and II, betanin and isobetanin) and phenolics [5,5',6,6'-tetrahydroxy-3,3'-biindolyl, feruloylglucose and beta-D-fructofuranosyl-alpha-D-(6-O-(E)-feruloylglueopyranoside)] were determined in different parts of the root; betalains were analysed separately in the water extract and phenolics in the fractionated 80% aqueous methanol extract (betalain-free water fraction). In each cultivar, both betanin and isobetanin were found in greater amounts in the peel than in the flesh. A similar trend was not observed in the distribution of vulgaxanthins. The three studied phenolics appeared in all root parts of the beetroot cultivars with the flesh generally containing the least content. Additionally, two phenolic amides (N-trans-feruloyltyramine and N-trans-feruloylhomovanillylamine) and four flavonoids (betagarin, betavulgarin, cochliophilin A and dihydroisorhamnetin) were detected in the fractionated 80% aqueous methanol peel extracts (acetonitrile fraction) of beetroot.