© 2012 Science From Israel / LPPLtd., Jerusalem Israel Journal of Plant Sciences Vol. 60 2012 pp. 291–299 DOI: 10.1560/IJPS.60.2.291 *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: csaenz@uchile.cl Red betalains from Opuntia spp.: Natural colorants with potential applications in foods Carmen Sáenz, a, * Beatriz CanCino, b and Paz robert c a Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile. Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile b Escuela de Ingeniería de Alimentos, Pontiicia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Waddington 716, Valparaíso, Chile c Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 233, Santiago, Chile (Received 5 September 2011; accepted in revised form 11 December 2011) ABSTRACT Natural red colorants are highly appreciated by the food industry, and betalains are one such category. There are few sources in nature of betalains, which are commonly obtained from red beet as a colorant additive and acceptable for addition to foods according the regulations of several countries. Red and purple Opuntia fruits could be a new source of these pigments for commercial purposes. The content of the pigment varies according the species and the extraction procedures. The stability of the pigments is another aspect to be considered. Betalains are also suggested as antioxidants and the inal colorant could be considered as a functional additive. Additionally, the inhabitants of many arid zones of the world could beneit from an increase in the demand of Opuntia fruits, a plant with low growing requirements. Keywords: Opuntia spp., cactus pear, betalains, natural pigments, colorants INTRODUCTION There are few sources of betalains in nature. It has only been reported in beetroot (Beta vulgaris), amaranth (Amaranthus), djulis (Chenopodium formosanum), and some cactaceas such as cactus pear (Opuntia spp.), pita- yas (Stenocereus sp.), pitahayas (Hylocereus undatus), and garambullo (Myrtillocactus geomerizans) (Sapers and Hornstein, 1979; Reynoso et al., 1997; Cai and Corke, 2000; Wybraniec and Mizrahi, 2002; Yañez-Lo- pez et al., 2005; Castellanos-Santiago and Yahia, 2008; Tsai et al., 2010). Beetroot is the main source for com- mercial betalains, used as natural red colorants in the food industry for many years (Serris and Biliaderis, 2001), primarily to color foods with no requirement for thermal treatments, such as yogurt, ice cream, syrups, and sausages (Forni et al., 1992; Diaz et al., 2006; Loza- no, 2009). The developing of new sources for natural pigments has been increased because the oficial EU and USA regulations have restricted the use of synthetic red colorants as additives in food, due to toxicity relat- ed to their carcinogenic effects (Tsuda et al., 2001). In this context, the red-purple fruits of Opuntia could be a potential source for betalains as natural colorants, with the added advantage of antioxidant properties (Kanner et al., 2001; Kuti, 2004; Azeredo, 2009). Betalains in Opuntia spp. The two principal groups of betalains, the betacyanins (red) and the betaxanthins (yellow), show absorption at different wave lengths (540 and 480 mm, respectively).