Betalains have both aesthetic values and positive health effects
in food, unlike synthetic colorants which may trigger adverse effects
in humans. Betalains are also water-soluble which facilitates
their incorporation into aqueous food system. The pharmacological
properties of betalains-rich foods such as red beetroot, amaranth,
prickly pear and red pitahaya show their great potential as functional
foods.
Plant sources of betalains other than red beetroot should be
grown in sufficient quantities to ensure that betalains could be
produced at a large scale for food industry use. Improvement of
existing betalain sources, such as prickly pear, red pitahaya and
amaranths, via breeding, high yielding strain selection and application
of biotechnological tools, such as plant tissue cultures and
genetic engineering, could facilitate the improvement of betalains
production.