ABSTRACT
Plants containing betalains have colors similar to plants containing the m ore well-known anthocyanins, yet in nature these two pigm ent classes are mutually exclusive. Although there are num erous o ther sources of betalains suitable as food colorants, in the United States, the use is restricted to the red beet. Another potential source is the pigm ent from am aranth (Amaranthus tricolor), a widely distributed but underutilized vegetable. More than 50 species of am aranth are known to exist. Leaf extracts of am aranth con taining the pigm ent am aranthine have found use as food colorants in dif ferent countries throughout the world. In the utilization of any pigm ent from a plant material as a food colorant, pigm ent concentration is of in ter est. Beet cultivars commonly used as vegetables contain a pigm ent concen tration between 100 and 300 m g /100 g fresh weight. In recent years a red beet breeding program, selecting for high pigment, has made it possible to achieve four to five times higher pigm ent concentrations com pared to the pigm ent content of commercial cultivars. The purpose of this review is to
Cultivar Fresh weight (m g/100 g)
Dry weight (m g/g)
Solids (%)
Mono-King Burgundy 135 9.3 14.5
Detroit Red 137 10.5 13.1 Fire Chief 124 8.4 14.6 Ruby Queen 117 8.2 14.2 Pacemaker 125 9.3 13.4
Source: Adapted from von Elbe, 1977.
