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Ascorbic, isoascorbic, and citric acids were applied for stabilisation of betacyanins during thermal treatment of purple pitaya juice at pH 4 and 6, respectively. In addition, to exclude matrix effects of juice constituents, selected food ingredients were added to a pigment preparation comprising the entire betacyanin pattern of purple pitaya, but being devoid of sugars, acids and pectic substances. After thermal treatment at pH 4, pigment retention, overall colour changes, betanin isomerisation, and phyllocactin deacylation were determined. As supported by statistical analyses, pigment stability and colour depended on type and concentration of the respective additive as well as on the pH conditions. Unexpectedly, the stabilising effects of the additives under investigation were more pronounced in purple pitaya juice than in the pigment preparation. After heating at 85 °C for 1 h, optimal pigment retention amounting to 91% was obtained in the juice supplemented with 1% ascorbic acid and adjusted to pH 4. For the first time, formation of indicaxanthin and isoindicaxanthin upon thermal treatment of purple pitaya juice is reported.

Purple pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruits have been recently proposed as a promising source of betalains. In the present study, purple pitaya juice processing at pilot-plant scale is reported for the first time. Each processing step was examined in terms of juice colour and betacyanin retention. Lightness (L *) and hue angle (h°) values were strongly influenced by juice filtration, while chroma (C *) and betacyanin retention were most strongly altered by pasteurisation. Three systems of juice pasteurisation were evaluated. Betacyanin loss and colour alteration were minimal upon pasteurisation in an HTST system and a standard tubular heat exchanger, respectively. Additionally, storage experiments using mucilage-free purple pitaya juice were conducted. Whereas light exposure of unsupplemented samples resulted in significant pigment degradation, detrimental effects of light exposition were completely prevented by the addition of 1% ascorbic acid prior to storage. After 6 months, about 70% of the initial betacyanin content was retained in the presence of ascorbic acid, irrespective of illumination.

In recent years, food coloring with artificial colorants has been increasingly disapproved by consumers. In return, application of coloring foodstuffs, among them betalain-containing fruits and vegetables, has gained importance for the food industry. As commonly true for natural pigments, betalains are afflicted with inferior stability compared to synthetic dyes. Especially temperature, oxygen, and light are known to exhibit detrimental effects on betalain integrity, while certain antioxidants and chelating agents may act as stabilizers. Only recently, several studies expanded the knowledge on betalain degradation pathways, especially focusing on betacyanin decomposition. Additionally, new findings on stability and stabilization of betalains in cactus fruit juices extended the application range of betalainic foodstuffs. Focusing on betacyanins, the present review discusses betalain degradation mechanisms and provides a survey of compounds and conditions governing betalain stability in a beneficial or an unfavorable way. Finally, strategies for maintaining the chromatic properties and tinctorial strength of betalain-based juices and pigment preparations as well as tools for color modulation by targeted betacyanin degradation are discussed.

Betanin and isobetanin from purple pitaya fruits originating from Israel, commercial red beet samples from Germany and France, as well as from a commercial pigment extract, respectively, were isolated by column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Their δ 13 C V-PDB and δ 2 H V-SMOW values were determined by Elemental Analyser-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry in the Combustion (C) and Pyrolysis (P) modes (EA-C/P-IRMS). While δ 13 C V-PDB values of red beet samples ranged from −26.9‰ to −27.7‰ indicative of C 3 plants, betanin and isobetanin derived from purple pitaya displayed values of −17.0‰ and −17.7‰, respectively, reflecting CAM mechanism of CO 2 fixation. As expected, betanin and isobetanin isolated from red beet and purple pitaya juice blends exhibited depletion in the heavy carbon isotope increasing with incrementing red beet content. Therefore, determination of δ 13 C V-PDB is considered a feasible approach for the detection of admixtures from red beet to purple pitaya-based products. In conjunction with δ 13 C V-PDB data, also different δ H V-SMOW values of the investigated plant samples proved useful for authenticity evaluation.

Changes in betacyanin content and colour shade of juices from purple pitaya [Hylocereus polyrhizus (Weber) Britton & Rose] as affected by thermal processing and consecutive cold storage to allow pigment reconstitution were investigated. Pigments from purple pitaya displayed higher stability than earlier investigations on betalains suggested. A novel high-performance liquid chromatography method was established, allowing simultaneous detection of genuine pigments of purple pitaya juice together with their degradation products. In addition to previously described betanin cleavage products (betalamic acid, cyclo-dopa 5-O-β-glucoside) further degradation products generated after decarboxylation and/or dehydration of phyllocactin and hylocerenin, respectively, were found. Moreover, neobetanin was identified as a thermal degradation product of betanin for the first time. With this newly developed high-performance liquid chromatography method, heating of purple pitaya juice and a commercial pitaya juice concentrate was proven by the detection of thermal betacyanin degradation products that had not been described, so far.

Thermal degradation of betanin, phyllocactin (malonyl-betanin), and hylocerenin (3' '-hydroxy-3' '-methyl-glutaryl-betanin) solutions isolated from purple pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus [Weber] Britton and Rose) was monitored by spectrophotometric and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analyses. For betanin and phyllocactin solutions, the color shift upon thermal treatment was found to be nearly identical, while hylocerenin samples exhibited an intelligibly higher chromatic steadiness. Betanin proved to be the most stable individual pigment structure, while the enhanced tinctorial stability of the integral phyllocactin and especially hylocerenin solutions was due to the formation of red degradation products exhibiting improved color retention as opposed to their respective genuine pigments. Individual structure-related stability characteristics can exclusively be assessed by HPLC-DAD analyses and may not be noticed by mere spectrophotometric assessment of color and tinctorial strength.

Betanin, phyllocactin (malonylbetanin) and hylocerenin (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylbetanin) were isolated from purple pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus [Weber] Britton and Rose) juice, and their degradation products generated by heating at 85 degrees C were subsequently monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Thermal degradation of phyllocactin and hylocerenin in purified solution excluding the alleged protective effects by the juice matrix is reported for the first time. Betanin was predominantly degraded by hydrolytic cleavage, while decarboxylation and dehydrogenation were of minor relevance. In contrast, hylocerenin showed a strong tendency to decarboxylation and dehydrogenation, hydrolytic cleavage of the aldimine bond occurring secondarily. Phyllocactin degradation was most complex because of additional decarboxylation of the malonic acid moiety as well as generation and subsequent degradation of betanin due to phyllocactin demalonylation. Upon prolonged heating, all betacyanins under observation formed degradation products characterized by an additional double bond at C2-C3. Hydrolytic cleavage of the aldimine bond of phyllocactin and hylocerenin yielded previously unknown acylated cyclo-dopa derivatives traceable by positive ionization, while application of ESI(-) facilitated the detection of a glycosylated aminopropanal derivative and dopamine, which have never been described before as betanin degradation products.

Total phenolics, ascorbic acid, and betalain contents of differently colored cactus pear clones (nine Opuntia ficus-indica [L.] Mill. clones and one O. robusta Wendl. clone) were investigated and related to their respective antioxidant potential assessed by Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. TEAC and ORAC values were very highly correlated with each other and also with values for total phenolics, betalain contents, and ascorbic acid concentrations. Total phenolics had the greatest contribution to ORAC and TEAC values. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) measurements of cactus pear juices permitted the differentiation of the clones based on variations in pigment patterns and betalain concentrations. The red and yellow betalains were absent in lime green colored cactus fruits. The ratio and concentration of these pigments were responsible for the yellow, orange, red, and purple colors in the other clones. Progeny of purple and lime green colored parents were characterized by 12% and 88% of plants bearing lime green and purple fruit, respectively. This implies that the genes for betalain production were lacking in the lime green fruits but could be provided by a parent with a complete set of genes, that is, purple fruits. Besides known pigments typical of Cactaceae, two unexpected betalains were identified. Whereas gomphrenin I was found for the first time in tissues of cactus plants, methionine-betaxanthin has never been described before as a genuine betalain. In addition to their alleged health-promoting properties, various combinations of yellow betaxanthins and red-purple betacyanins may allow the development of new food products without using artificial colorants.