Interested in betalains and betalain-containing plant extracts?
Plant pigments betalains have emerged as novel phytochemicals of potential application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries due to their natural colorant and fluorescent properties, potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities, and in vivo health-promoting potential. With cutting-edge capabilities, our company offers reference substances and support in analysis and production of tailor-made betalains in established and emerging areas.
FLUORESCENT MOLECULES
Fluorescence of betaxanthins, discovered in 2005, has opened a wide variety of biotechnological applications for pigments with possibility to prepare tailor-made molecules with tunable properties. Betalamic acid can be condensed with amino acids present in proteins to produce the corresponding betaxanthins. Therefore, proteins can be labeled with betalamic acid to produce fluorescent yellow-colored protein derivates (DOI: 10.1016/j.dyepig.2016.06.037).
The amphiphilic characteristic of betalains and the possibility to prepare tailor-made molecules was exploited to synthetize a 4-methyl-coumarin-betaxanthin. The molecule was used as live-imaging fluorescent probe to detect erythrocytes infected by Plasmodium the causing agent of malaria (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053874).