Home Ingredients Betalains (Beetroot Pigments)
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Betalains (Beetroot Pigments)

Beta vulgaris (beetroot — primary source)
Evidence Level
Limited
3 Clinical Trials
5 Documented Benefits
2/5 Evidence Score

Betalains are the vivid red and yellow antioxidant pigments found in beets, prickly pear, and Swiss chard, and they give beetroot products their deep color. They are not the same thing as beetroot's nitrate, which is what drives beetroot's blood pressure and endurance results. The pigments have been tested on their own in four small crossover trials of a low-nitrate betalain concentrate at 100 mg a day: running time trials were about 2 to 3 percent faster in trained runners and triathletes, and cyclists produced slightly more power with no rise in blood nitric oxide, though running economy and VO2max did not change. A separate 14-day trial in 19 adults used a betalain-rich dragon fruit powder and improved a measure of artery function, though blood pressure did not change. Trials of betalain supplements have not shown a fall in inflammatory markers. Betalains are typically delivered through beetroot juice, powder, or extracts standardized for betalain content rather than dosed in isolation. Beeturia, a harmless pink tint to urine or stool, affects roughly 10 to 14 percent of people, and beetroot is high in oxalate, which matters for anyone with a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones.

Studied Dose 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate for 6 to 7 days in the exercise trials. 24 g/day of dragon fruit powder, about 33 mg betalains, for 14 days in the vascular trial.
Active Compound Betacyanins — betanin (betanidin-5-O-β-glucoside, most abundant), isobetanin, prebetanin, betanidin. Betaxanthins — vulgaxanthin I, vulgaxanthin II, indicaxanthin.

Benefits

Small endurance gains from a betalain concentrate

Four small crossover trials tested 100 mg a day of a low-nitrate betalain-rich beetroot concentrate. Running time trials were about 2 to 3 percent faster in 22 triathletes and in 13 runners. In 28 cyclists, average power over a 30-minute time trial was marginally higher (231.6 vs 225.3 W, p=0.050) but distance covered and relative power did not differ, and blood nitric oxide did not rise, which is what separates this from a nitrate effect. Running economy and VO2max did not improve. The concentrate was supplied by its manufacturer in two of the four trials. Beetroot juice results belong to its nitrate, not to the pigments.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 1

Artery function improved in one small trial

In 19 young healthy adults, 14 days of a betalain-rich dragon fruit powder supplying 33 mg betalains raised flow-mediated dilation, a measure of artery lining function, by about 1.3 percentage points, and reduced arterial stiffness. Blood pressure did not change in that trial. A separate pilot crossover in 48 men with coronary artery disease gave betalain-rich Opuntia stricta or red beetroot supplements for two weeks and reported lower homocysteine, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure, though the authors judged only the homocysteine, LDL and non-HDL cholesterol changes large enough to matter clinically. Both trials are small and neither has been repeated.

Supported by Trial 3

Inflammatory markers unchanged in betalain trials

Betalains block NF-kB signalling and cut inflammatory cytokines in cell culture and in animals, but that has not carried over to people. The 100 mg concentrate trial in 28 cyclists found no change in inflammatory markers, and two trials of beetroot juice after damaging exercise found no change in C-reactive protein and no faster recovery. A 12-week beetroot juice trial in type 2 diabetes did report lower IL-6 and TNF-alpha, but it used a no-treatment comparison group rather than a placebo and the juice also supplied nitrate.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 1

Antioxidant activity, mostly measured in the test tube

Betanin scavenges radicals about as well as vitamin C in laboratory assays. The clearest human signal is a crossover study in 18 healthy adults eating 500 g a day of betalain-rich cactus pear pulp for 2 weeks, which lowered several markers of oxidative damage while 150 mg a day of vitamin C did not. The 100 mg beetroot concentrate, by contrast, did not change oxidative stress markers in 28 cyclists. Absorption is low: about 0.3 percent of an oral dose is recovered intact in urine, and betanin was not detectable in blood after 250 mL of beetroot juice, so how much reaches tissues is unresolved.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 3

Liver effects seen only in animals

The liver claim rests on rodent studies of alcohol and carbon tetrachloride injury, working through antioxidant activity and Phase 2 enzyme induction. No human trial has measured any liver outcome after betalain intake, so this is an animal finding and not a reason to take betalains for the liver.

Supported by Trial 3

Mechanism of action

1

Direct radical scavenging via betalain structure

Betanin and other betacyanins have unique nitrogen-containing chromophore structure that provides exceptional radical scavenging capacity. In hydrogen atom transfer assays, betanin shows IC50 values comparable to or better than vitamin C and E. Direct antioxidant mechanism is well-characterized in vitro.

2

Nrf2 activation and Phase 2 enzyme induction

Betalains activate Nrf2 transcription factor — upregulating Phase 2 detoxification enzymes (NQO1, HO-1, glutathione synthesis enzymes, glutathione-S-transferases). Mechanism for cellular antioxidant defense enhancement that outlasts direct radical scavenging effects.

3

NF-κB inhibition and anti-inflammatory cytokines

Betalains block NF-kB from entering the cell nucleus, which lowers transcription of pro-inflammatory genes such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta and COX-2. This is cell and animal work. Human trials of betalains have not shown a fall in inflammatory markers, so the pathway has not been demonstrated in people.

4

Endothelial function via nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway (co-occurring with betalains)

Beetroot's most important cardiovascular mechanism is through dietary nitrate conversion to nitric oxide via oral bacteria → nitrite → NO pathway. This is not a betalain mechanism but co-occurs with betalain consumption. Important to distinguish in evaluating beetroot vs purified betalain claims.

5

DNA protection (preclinical)

Betalains reduce oxidative damage to DNA in cell culture and in animals. What that means in people is unknown, because no human trial has measured DNA damage after betalain intake.

Clinical trials

1
Betalain Concentrate in Triathletes (RCT)
PubMed

Randomized double-blind crossover trial (Montenegro CF, Kwong DA, Minow ZA, Davis BA, Lozada CF, Casazza GA 2017, Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 42(2):166-172, PMID 28121183).

22 competitive triathletes (9 men, 13 women, mean age 38) took 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate containing no nitrate, or placebo, for 6 days, then cycled 40 minutes and ran a 10 km time trial, with a 5 km time trial 24 hours later.

The 10 km time trial was about 1.3 minutes faster on the concentrate (49.5 vs 50.8 minutes, p=0.03) and the next-day 5 km was faster in 17 of 22 participants (23.2 vs 23.9 minutes, p=0.003). Creatine kinase and next-day fatigue rose less. Heart rate and perceived exertion were unchanged. One small crossover trial of a single commercial concentrate, which was supplied by its manufacturer, two of whose scientists are acknowledged in the paper.

2
Betalain Concentrate in Cyclists (RCT)
PubMed

Randomized counterbalanced crossover trial (Mumford PW, Kephart WC, Romero MA, et al. 2018, Eur J Appl Physiol 118(11):2465-2476, PMID 30155761).

28 trained male cyclists took 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate or placebo for 7 days, with a 1-week washout, then completed a 30-minute cycling time trial.

Average absolute power was marginally higher on the concentrate (231.6 vs 225.3 W, p=0.050), a difference of under 3 percent, and efficiency improved over the final 5 minutes. Relative power, distance covered, lactate, glucose, inflammatory markers and oxidative stress markers did not differ. Plasma nitric oxide metabolites did not rise, which is why this result is read as a pigment effect rather than a nitrate effect.

3
Betalain Dragon Fruit and Artery Function (RCT)
PubMed

Double-blind randomized crossover trial (Cheok A, Xu Y, Zhang Z, Caton PW, Rodriguez-Mateos A 2022, Am J Clin Nutr 115(5):1418-1431, PMID 35265960).

19 young, healthy, nonsmoking men and women took 24 g/day of whole dragon fruit powder providing 33 mg betalains, or a nutrient-matched placebo, for 14 days. 18 completed the trial.

Flow-mediated dilation, a measure of artery lining function, rose against placebo at 2, 3 and 4 hours after a dose (+0.8, +1.0 and +1.3 percentage points) and was still about 1.3 points higher at 14 days. Pulse-wave velocity fell at 3 hours and augmentation index improved at 14 days. Blood pressure did not change at any time point. These are surrogate measures of vessel function in young healthy people, not clinical outcomes in people with a diagnosed condition.

Side effects and drug interactions

Common Potential side effects

Beeturia: harmless pink or red urine and stool, reported in roughly 10 to 14 percent of people after a beet portion and more often in those who are iron deficient.
Mild GI upset at high beetroot doses (oxalate content can be a concern in kidney stone formers).
Hypotension at high doses combined with antihypertensives.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: beets as food are fine. Concentrated betalain supplements have not been tested in pregnancy, so there is no safety data either way.
Allergic reactions: rare.
Beetroot is high in oxalate. Anyone with a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones should limit concentrated beet products and raise it with their doctor.

Important Drug interactions

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil): possible additive blood-vessel widening, but this comes from beetroot's nitrate, not from the pigments.
Antihypertensives: theoretical additive BP-lowering.
Most medications: no significant clinical interactions documented.
Compatible with most cardiovascular and athletic performance supplements.
Betalains themselves have no documented drug interactions. Absorption is low: about 0.3 percent of an oral dose is recovered intact in urine, and betanin was not detectable in blood after 250 mL of beetroot juice.

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Frequently asked questions about Betalains (Beetroot Pigments)

What are betalains used for?

Betalains are the red and yellow pigments in beets, prickly pear, dragon fruit, and Swiss chard. A low-nitrate betalain concentrate has been tested for endurance performance, and a betalain-rich dragon fruit powder for artery function. They are not the nitrate that drives beetroot's blood pressure and endurance results.

What are betalains good for?

In small crossover trials, 100 mg a day of a betalain concentrate made running time trials about 2 to 3 percent faster and left inflammatory markers unchanged. Cyclists on the same dose gained a small amount of power but covered no more distance, and a single dose did not improve running economy or VO2max. A dragon fruit betalain powder improved artery lining function but not blood pressure. Every one of these trials is small, and two of the four exercise trials were run in a laboratory working with the concentrate's manufacturer.

How much betalains should I take?

The exercise trials used 100 mg a day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate for 6 or 7 days, and one used a single 100 mg dose. The vascular trial used 24 g a day of dragon fruit powder supplying about 33 mg betalains for 14 days. Other human work used whole foods and food-based supplements: 500 g a day of cactus pear pulp for 2 weeks, and betalain supplements of about 50 mg in men with coronary artery disease.

Are betalains safe?

Betalains from beets are well tolerated. About 10 to 14 percent of people get beeturia, a harmless pink tint to urine or stool. Beetroot is also high in oxalate, so anyone with a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones should be careful with concentrated beet products.

What is Betalains?

Betalains are the vivid red and yellow antioxidant pigments found in beets, prickly pear, and Swiss chard, and they give beetroot products their deep color. They are not the same thing as beetroot's nitrate, which is what drives beetroot's blood pressure and endurance results.

What is Betalains used for?

Betalains is researched primarily for Cardiovascular, Athletic Performance, and Antioxidant. Four small crossover trials tested 100 mg a day of a low-nitrate betalain-rich beetroot concentrate. Running time trials were about 2 to 3 percent faster in 22 triathletes and in 13 runners.

What is the recommended dosage of Betalains?

The clinically studied dose is 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate for 6 to 7 days in the exercise trials. 24 g/day of dragon fruit powder, about 33 mg betalains, for 14 days in the vascular trial. Always follow the product label and check with a healthcare provider for personal advice.

Is Betalains safe, and does it have side effects?

For most healthy adults, Betalains is well tolerated at studied doses. Reported effects can include: Beeturia: harmless pink or red urine and stool, reported in roughly 10 to 14 percent of people after a beet portion and more often in those who are iron deficient. Mild GI upset at high beetroot doses (oxalate content can be a concern in kidney stone formers). It may also interact with some medications. Betalains is not right for everyone, so check with a healthcare provider first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a medical condition, or take prescription medication.

Does Betalains interact with any medications?

Possible interactions include: Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil): possible additive blood-vessel widening, but this comes from beetroot's nitrate, not from the pigments. Antihypertensives: theoretical additive BP-lowering. If you take prescription medication, check with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

How strong is the scientific evidence for Betalains?

NutraSmarts rates the evidence for Betalains as Limited (2 out of 5). It is backed by 3 clinical trials and 10 cited references summarized on this page. A higher rating reflects more, larger, and better-designed human studies.

References(10 citations)

Evidence ratings on NutraSmarts are based on the totality of human clinical research, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. The references below directly support claims made throughout this page.

  1. Clifford T, Howatson G, West DJ, et al. Beetroot juice is more beneficial than sodium nitrate for attenuating muscle pain after strenuous eccentric-bias exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2017;42(11):1185-1191..PubMedUsed to support: Thirty recreationally active men were randomized in three groups of ten to beetroot juice, a nitrate-matched sodium nitrate drink, or an isocaloric placebo, taken immediately and at 24 and 48 hours after 100 drop jumps. Pressure-pain threshold recovered better with beetroot juice than with either comparator: 104 percent of baseline at 72 hours versus 94 percent after sodium nitrate and 91 percent after placebo (P=0.043). Maximal voluntary contraction, countermovement jump and creatine kinase showed no group differences, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein was not raised by the exercise at all. Both drinks raised serum nitric oxide similarly, and the authors concluded that any pain-relieving effect was likely due to compounds in beetroot juice other than nitrate, or to interactions between them.
  2. Tesoriere L, Butera D, Pintaudi AM, Allegra M, Livrea MA. Supplementation with cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit decreases oxidative stress in healthy humans: a comparative study with vitamin C. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(2):391-5. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/80.2.391.PubMedUsed to support: In a randomized crossover study, 18 healthy volunteers ate 250 g of betalain-rich cactus pear pulp twice daily for two weeks, which lowered 8-epi-PGF2alpha by about 30 percent, malondialdehyde by about 75 percent and LDL hydroperoxides by nearly 50 percent, and improved the glutathione redox ratio. The comparator, 75 mg of vitamin C twice daily, did not significantly change any oxidative stress marker. This is whole fruit rather than an isolated pigment, so the betalains are inferred as the active rather than proven so.
  3. Clifford T, Constantinou CM, Keane KM, West DJ, Howatson G, Stevenson EJ. The plasma bioavailability of nitrate and betanin from Beta vulgaris rubra in humans. Eur J Nutr. 2017;56(3):1245-1254. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1173-5.PubMedUsed to support: In a randomized crossover study, 10 healthy men consumed 250 mL of beetroot juice containing about 194 mg betanin or 300 g of whole beetroot containing about 66 mg, and betanin could not be detected in plasma at any of the six sampling points over 8 hours. Plasma nitrate and nitrite rose for 8 hours after the juice and 5 hours after whole beetroot. Beetroot raises nitric oxide availability, but the pigment itself is very poorly absorbed into the blood.
  4. Montenegro CF, Kwong DA, Minow ZA, Davis BA, Lozada CF, Casazza GA. Betalain-rich concentrate supplementation improves exercise performance and recovery in competitive triathletes. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2017;42(2):166-172. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0452.PubMedUsed to support: In 22 competitive triathletes (9 men, 13 women, mean age 38) taking 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate containing no nitrate for 6 days, the 10 km running time trial was faster than on placebo (49.5 vs 50.8 minutes, p=0.03) and a 5 km time trial 24 hours later was faster in 17 of 22 participants (23.2 vs 23.9 minutes, p=0.003). Creatine kinase and next-day subjective fatigue rose less on the concentrate, while heart rate and perceived exertion were unchanged. A small crossover trial of one commercial concentrate that was supplied by its manufacturer, two of whose scientists are acknowledged in the paper.
  5. Clifford T, Allerton DM, Brown MA, Harper L, Horsburgh S, Keane KM, Stevenson EJ, Howatson G. Minimal muscle damage after a marathon and no influence of beetroot juice on inflammation and recovery. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2017;42(3):263-270. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0525.PubMedUsed to support: In 34 experienced marathon runners given beetroot juice or an isocaloric placebo for three days after a marathon, maximal voluntary contraction and countermovement jump fell after the race with no difference between groups, muscle soreness had returned to baseline by day 2 in both groups, and cytokines, creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase and C-reactive protein showed no benefit from the juice. The authors concluded beetroot juice did not attenuate inflammation or reduce muscle damage, noting that most of these markers were not markedly raised by the marathon in the first place.
  6. Van Hoorebeke JS, Trias CO, Davis BA, Lozada CF, Casazza GA. Betalain-Rich Concentrate Supplementation Improves Exercise Performance in Competitive Runners. Sports (Basel). 2016;4(3):40. doi: 10.3390/sports4030040.PubMedUsed to support: In 13 competitive male runners taking 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich concentrate for 6 days in a randomized double-blind crossover, steady-state running produced a 3 percent lower heart rate, a 15 percent lower rating of perceived exertion and a 14 percent lower blood lactate than control (p=0.05), and the following 5 km time trial was faster in 10 of 13 runners (23.0 vs 23.6 minutes). Lactate dehydrogenase rose less from baseline, though subjective muscle soreness and fatigue were the same. Thirteen men in one laboratory is a very small sample, and the study was financially supported by VDF FutureCeuticals, the company behind the concentrate.
  7. Mumford PW, Kephart WC, Romero MA, Haun CT, Mobley CB, Osburn SC, Healy JC, Moore AN, Pascoe DD, Ruffin WC, Beck DT, Martin JS, Roberts MD, Young KC. Effect of 1-week betalain-rich beetroot concentrate supplementation on cycling performance and select physiological parameters. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2018;118(11):2465-2476. doi: 10.1007/s00421-018-3973-1.PubMedUsed to support: In 28 trained male cyclists taking 100 mg/day of a betalain-rich beetroot concentrate for 7 days in a crossover design, average absolute power in a 30-minute time trial was marginally higher than on placebo (231.6 vs 225.3 W, p=0.050, a difference of under 3 percent with a reported effect size of d=0.02) and efficiency improved over the final 5 minutes. Average relative power, distance covered, blood pH, lactate, glucose, inflammatory markers and markers of oxidative stress showed no differences. Plasma nitric oxide metabolites did not rise, so the small performance change was not explained by nitrate.
  8. Rahimi P, Mesbah-Namin SA, Ostadrahimi A, Abedimanesh S, Separham A, Asghary Jafarabadi M. Effects of betalains on atherogenic risk factors in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Food Funct. 2019;10(12):8286-8297. doi: 10.1039/c9fo02020a.PubMedUsed to support: In a pilot randomized crossover study of 48 male patients with coronary artery disease, two weeks of a betacyanin-rich Opuntia stricta supplement or a betalain-rich red beetroot supplement lowered homocysteine, glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The authors judged only the homocysteine, LDL and non-HDL cholesterol changes clinically meaningful. Only 0.13 to 0.93 percent of the dose was recovered in urine and plasma betanin was minimal. A pilot study in men with diagnosed heart disease, not in healthy supplement users.
  9. Cheok A, Xu Y, Zhang Z, Caton PW, Rodriguez-Mateos A. Betalain-rich dragon fruit (pitaya) consumption improves vascular function in men and women: a double-blind, randomized controlled crossover trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;115(5):1418-1431. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab410.PubMedUsed to support: In 19 young, healthy, nonsmoking adults taking 24 g/day of whole dragon fruit powder providing 33 mg betalains for 14 days (18 completed), flow-mediated dilation improved against placebo at 2 hours (+0.8 percentage points), 3 hours (+1.0) and 4 hours (+1.3, P<0.001), and remained about 1.3 percentage points higher at 14 days. Pulse-wave velocity fell at 3 hours and augmentation index improved at 14 days. Blood pressure did not differ from placebo at any time point. One small crossover trial in young healthy people, using whole fruit powder in an amount the authors describe as dietary, so the betalains are inferred as the active rather than isolated.
  10. Vitti S, Bruneau M Jr, Bisgrove L, Grey S, Levine S, Mattern C, Faller J. Effects of a single dose of a betalain-rich concentrate on determinants of running performance and recovery muscle blood flow: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2025;125(7):1809-1816. doi: 10.1007/s00421-025-05738-w.PubMedUsed to support: In 17 male recreational runners given a single 100 mg dose of a betalain-rich concentrate in a triple-blind placebo-controlled crossover, heart rate was lower at 80 percent of VO2max and at maximum, perceived exertion was lower at 60 percent of VO2max, and muscle oxygenation recovered faster at 3, 4 and 5 minutes after exercise. Running economy, VO2max and post-exercise lactate clearance were not improved, so a single dose changed how hard the effort felt without raising aerobic capacity. The supplement and placebo were donated by a supplement company.