Betalain-Enriched Beetroots Exhibit Antiulcer and Anti-inflammatory Potentials

Introduction. Recently, plant natural food colorants have received a growing interest due to their therapeutic and preventive activities against various diseases. This study is aimed at evaluating the phytochemical composition by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and at evaluating the antiulcer effect of red beetroot betalains (BRB). Materials and Methods. Ethanol was used for gastric mucosa damage, ulcer, and inflammation induction in rat. Results. HPLC-DAD data revealed the existence of numerous compounds, including betanidin 5-glucoside (43.22%), isobetanidin 5glucoside (18.47%), 2,17-bidecarboxy-neobetanin (7.07%), 2-O-glucosyl-betanin (4.03%), 17-decarboxy-betanidin (3.61%), neobetanin (3.24%), and eight other compounds whose yields were too low. In vitro as in gastric tissues in rats, BRB potentially inhibited key enzymes-relation to gastric ulceration and damage as pepsin, lipoxygenase, and hyaluronidase activities. In ethanol-induced gastric ulcer and inflammation, BRB administration at doses 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg significantly (p < 0.05) decreases the ulcer areas (UA) and index (UI); increases the curative index (CI) by 78.1, 78.4, and 78%, respectively; and ameliorates the pathological damage induced by ethanol. In addition, BRB administration to rat gastric ulcer rats prevented significantly (p = 0.05) the decrease of gastric mucus (GM) content (by 116%) and reduced the stress oxidant, evidenced by a significant (p = 0.05) decrease of gastric mucosa thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) (by 28%) and mucus juice pepsin by 56%. Conclusion. Taken together, BRB exerted potential therapeutic efficacy for gastric ulceration.