BEETROOT PIGMENTS

- and membranes
These pigments are betalain pigments (not, as often thought, anthocyanins), which they replace in some organisms. They are named after the Beet family of plants (Beta) but are also found in fungi (Fly Agaric - the red, spotted one! . !n petals they presumably attract pollinating insects and may be present in seeds"fruits to encourage birds to eat them and so disperse the seeds. #an has selected for colour in beetroot, both because it is more attracti$e but also because it may well be lin%ed to genes for fla$our too. There is no indication that they ha$e any protecti$e function (e.g. against &' light or insect"fungal"$iral attac% . &nli%e anthocyanins, they are not p( indicators their colour is stable o$er a wide range of p(. They are o)idised o$er time (going brown and this may be pre$ented by *.+, ascorbic acid ( 'it.. / they are sometimes used as food colourants. They are found in the $acuole and thus are used as mar%ers for scientists who wish to e)tract intact $acuoles from plants for research. To e)tract the pigment, the membranes must be disrupted. This can be done by heat shoc%, by detergents or by sol$ents (e.g. ethanol or acidified methanol . Thin slices ha$e a larger surface area and so lea% more pigment/ free0ing the beetroot first bursts the cell membranes and %ills the cells, thus allowing the pigment to be e)tracted much more 1uic%ly.

Effect of Heat:
2hen you heat a beetroot, you disrupt the cell membranes. A biological membrane is made of a so-called phospholipid bilayer. These are formed because the phospholipids that ma%e it up ha$e a polar 3water-lo$ing3 (hydrophyllic head and a 4water-hating5 (hydrophobic tail. The tails pac% together, e)posing only the polar heads to the water. The most effecti$e way of doing this is to create two blan%ets one atop the other, with the fatty acid tails towards each other. This is the phospholipid bilayer. !n a cell they form sac%s. 6ne goes all around the cell (the plasma membrane , others may form $acuoles (such as the tonoplast . 7et others may be li%e stac%s of half empty bags (the endothelial reticulum, which is also continuous with the nuclear en$elope. !n these lipid seas, there will be a number of proteins in $arious degrees of submersion. 8ome span all the bilayer, thus being e)posed on both sides. 6thers 9ust drift on either of its surfaces. Typically, you will find that about :*, of a cell membrane is protein. The water around and within the compartments formed by the phospholipid bilayers is also crammed with protein (- cytoplasm .

8o what happens when you heat this; 2hen you heat something you gi$e it energy. #olecules start to spin and $ibrate faster. The water will

e)pand too. This will ha$e a disrupti$e effect on any membrane in its way. To ma%e things worse, lipids become more fluid as temperature goes up (thin% of what happens when you heat butter so the membranes become more fragile. <roteins are remar%able machines= they>re formed of coiled and folded strings of aminoacids, held together by hydrogen bonds and disulphide bridges. !f you heat them too much, they will untangle and brea% apart ($ibrations again . 2hen this happens to the proteins spanning a lipid membrane, they will form holes that will destroy the delicate structure. ?ow, any pigments in the innermost compartment will spill out.

Half life:
The half-life of beetroot pigment is @+A mins at BC*. but only DA.C mins at E**.. These $alues are doubled in *.+, ascorbic acid. #etal ions speed up the brea%down iron is particularly effecti$e. They are stable between p( @.* and :.* indeed, at high temperatures they are most stable in a p( between @.* and C.* and most fruits and $egetables are acidic!

Effect of or!anic sol"ents

!f you want to dissol$e lipid-embedded pigments, place a beetroot in an organic sol$ent such as acetone and see what you get. 7ou brea% down the structure bet#een the phospholipids, not the phospholipids themsel$es that much. The proteins on the other hand, are truly destroyed. The basic structure of the tonoplast is the same as the plasma membrane (as described abo$e . !n this respect, they>re similar, though with a higher proportion of protein in the plasma membrane than in the tonoplast. (why;

PIGMENTS IN P$%NTS
+. The anthocyanins are common plant pigments. They are water-soluble glycosides with some or all of the sugar groups remo$ed. The colour comes from a positi$e charge distributed o$er the chemical ring system. The colours of the charged anthocyanin pigments are dependent on the p( of the intracellular medium containing these

pigments.

B. #any lea$es fre1uently de$elop red coloration during de$elopment, at maturity, and during senescence. #ost plants produce anthocyanins (usually cyanidin glycosides as the basis of this colour, but members of the .aryophyllales produce nitrogenous pigments, betacyanins. A. The betacyanin pigment of beetroot is normally se1uestered in the $acuole of the beet root cells. 6f course, if the beetroot is cut, cells are sliced open and the pigment spills out. (owe$er, if the membrane is altered (phospholipid bilayer F proteins more subtly, lea%age (diffusion of betacyanin is induced.

Betalains: &hat are betalains'

Betalains are al%aloid pigments that are found in some families of plants belonging to the order .aryophyllales, but in no other plants. Gittle is %nown about the role of betalains. Betalains are not found in plants containing anthocyanin pigments structurally they are unrelated They ha$e also been found in some fungi e.g. Fly Agaric They can be di$ided into betacyanins and beta)anthins based upon their molecular structure. Betacyanins generally appear red to red $iolet in colour - they absorb in the CAC-CC*nm range hence our choice of filter in the colorimeter Beta(anthins generally appear yellow in colour (absorb in the @:C-@D*nm range They cause colour in both flowers, fruits and sometimes $egetati$e organs They are found in the $acuole and they are water-soluble. Beetroot contains B Betacyanins - Betanin and a deri$ati$e The basic structure of betacyanins

)o**ercial +ses:
Beetroot pigment is used commercially as a food dye. !t changes colour when heated so can only be used in ice-cream, sweets and other confectionary, but it is both cheap and has no %nown allergic side-effects. Beetroot itself, of course, is a common salad ingredient when coo%ed, $inegar is added to the water to lower the p(. !f you read all the abo$e notes, you will see why! !(2 6ctober B**A