Chemical Characterization of Aqueous Extracts of Beetroot-Stems and Roots and the Study of their Antioxidant Activities

Betalains concentration (betanin and vulgaxanthin I equivalent), total phenolic contents (gallic acid equivalents) of different parts (roots and stems) of grown red beets (Beta vulgaris L.) were determined separately in water raw and fractionated extracts. The results showed that roots had the highest betalains content with a maximum of 80.47 mg eq betanin and 69.86 mg eq vulgaxantine I/100 ml of crude extract. The stems present a total phenolic concentration higher than had roots in all samples extracts, ranging between 4.00 and 15.55 mEq. g gallic acid/g of extract. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the beta-carotene bleaching method. Results showed that crude extracts of red beets were effective at 200 ppm levels and comparable to Butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) at the same concentration.