Antioxidant Betalains from Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus‐indica) Inhibit Endothelial ICAM‐1 Expression

Abstract

It has been suggested that some pigments would have antioxidant properties and that their presence in dietary constituents would contribute to reduce the risk of oxidative stress-correlated diseases. Among others, inflammatory response depends on redox status and may implicate oxidative stress. Vascular endothelial cells are a direct target of oxidative stress in inflammation. We have tested the impact of the free radical scavenger and antioxidant properties of betalains from the prickle pear in an in vitro model of endothelial cells. Here we show the capacity of betalains to protect endothelium from cytokine-induced redox state alteration, through ICAM-1 inhibition.

Betanidin significantly reduces blood glucose levels in BALB/c mice fed with an atherogenic diet

“…We did not quantify the hypoglycemic effect with different doses of betanidin nor the presence of this effect in other betalains. In respect to the latter, since the antioxidant capacity and the other effects mentioned before are considered to be present in all betalains 3,4,[6][7][8][10][11][12]14,15 , it may be possible that the hypoglycemic effect is present in all this group of molecules; further studies will determine if this is the case.…”

“…As with other betalains 3,[6][7][8][9] , the main biological action of betanidin known to date in animal biomolecules is its antioxidant capacity 10 . Betalains have also been shown to induce the expression of quinone reductases 11 , to inhibit the expression of ICAM-1 12 and to decrease the DNA methyl transferase activity 13 . However, none of the effects mentioned can directly explain the hypoglycemic effect observed.…”

Anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activity of whole extract and isolated indicaxanthin from Opuntia ficus-indica associated with re-activation of the onco-suppressor p16INK4a gene in human colorectal carcinoma (Caco-2) cells

“…We showed that this betaxanthin behaves as a radical scavenger and antioxidant [12][13][14], interacts with and locates in membranes [15,16], and affects cell redox-sensitive signaling pathways [17,18]. When consuming cactus pear fruits, Ind is stable at the digestive conditions, not metabolized by the enterocytes, and highly bioavailable in humans in its native form [19][20][21].…”

Pigment production and growth of Alternanthera plants cultured in vitro in the presence of tyrosine

“…Several authors have studied the bioactivities of these pigments, including their antiviral and antibiotic effects (Strack et al 2003). Their antioxidant properties have been shown in a wide range of tests (Kanner et al 2001;Gentile et al 2004;Tesoriere et al 2008). For example, Tesoriere et al (2003) reported that enrichment of human low-density lipoproteins with betalains increased the oxidation resistance, slowing cell aging.…”