In Situ Extraction and Recovery of Betalains from Hairy Root Culture of Beta Vulgaris

Today colour has become a major component of food and pharmaceutical products as it is indispensible for quick identification and eventual acceptance of the product. Colours are of two different origin such as synthetic and natural. Natural colours are known to afford natural look to the products in terms of glossy and brightness. Hairy root culture is one of the plant tissue culture techniques widely used for the production of root derived secondary metabolites to enhance the level of secondary metabolites. Beta vulgaris belonging to Chenopodiaceae family composed of red pigment betacyanin and yellow pigment betaxanthin (betalains) has been well known for centuries as an attractive food colour. The stability of betalains is greatly influenced by light, pH, temperature, oxygen etc and become unstable under adverse conditions. Hence, in the present study, in situ extraction method was adopted in order to enhance the betalain content and its stability, so that the same biomass can be regrown by inoculating into the new medium. In a commercial process this leads to high profits depending on the importance of the compounds.