There is an increasing demand for natural pigments in food production, but challenges are related to the existence of matrices rich in these pigments, the optimization of extraction conditions and the preservation of pigments. Pitaya, the fruit of is considered a good source of betalains and phenolic compounds; therefore, they were extracted from its pulp by ultrasound-assisted extraction, the extract was encapsulated by spray drying, and the stability of the microencapsulated pitaya pulp extract (MPPE) was studied. MPPE showed satisfactory results of solubility, hygroscopicity, encapsulation efficiency and antioxidant activity. After 90 days of storage, MPPE showed reductions in betalains and phenolic compounds contents of only 14.28% and 11.88%, respectively, which indicates that the extract has great potential as an ingredient and/or functional pigment for application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

中文翻译：

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红火龙果（Hylocereus polyrhizus）作为甜菜碱和酚类化合物的来源：超声提取、微胶囊化和稳定性评估

食品生产中对天然色素的需求不断增加，但挑战与富含这些色素的基质的存在、提取条件的优化和色素的保存有关。火龙果的果实被认为是甜菜碱和酚类化合物的良好来源；因此，采用超声辅助提取的方法从果肉中提取它们，并通过喷雾干燥将提取物封装，并研究微囊化火龙果果肉提取物（MPPE）的稳定性。MPPE在溶解度、吸湿性、包封率​​和抗氧化活性方面表现出令人满意的结果。储存90天后，MPPE的甜菜红素和酚类化合物含量分别仅降低14.28%和11.88%，这表明该提取物作为成分和/或功能性色素在食品和制药行业的应用具有巨大的潜力。