Currently, the demand for natural colorants is increasing instead of synthetic colorants for foodstuff, because they are harmless to human health. Betalain is group of compounds containing nitrogen and water soluble pigment. Betalain is classified into two main classes, betacyanin which is the condensation of betalamic acid with cyclo-DOPA and betaxanthin which is the conjugation of amino acid or amines with betalamic acid. They are used to color various foods and medicines. Betalain is different from anthocyanin because betalains contain nitrogen in their structures. It is interesting to hear that betalains and anthocyanins are individually significant but they have not seen together in the same plant. Their stability influenced by various factors such as, temperature, pH, water activity and light. In this review basic chemistry of betalains, classes, subclasses, their sources and biosynthesis, factors affecting their stability, health and food industry applications are discussed. Moreover, mentioned work signifies the potent anticancer, antioxidant and antimalarial activities of betalains, furthermore provides a help to do more scientific work on it.

中文翻译：

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甜菜碱：具有多功能植物化学的潜在药物。

目前，对天然着色剂的需求正在增加，而不是用于食品的合成着色剂，因为它们对人体健康无害。甜菜碱是一组含氮和水溶性色素的化合物。甜菜碱分为两大类，甜菜花青是甜菜酸与环多巴的缩合，甜菜红素是氨基酸或胺与甜菜酸的缀合。它们用于为各种食品和药品着色。甜菜碱与花青素不同，因为甜菜碱的结构中含有氮。有趣的是，甜菜碱和花青素各自具有重要意义，但它们并未在同一植物中同时出现。它们的稳定性受温度、pH、水分活度和光照等多种因素的影响。在这篇评论甜菜碱的基础化学中，讨论了类、子类、它们的来源和生物合成、影响它们稳定性的因素、健康和食品工业应用。此外，上述工作表明甜菜碱具有强大的抗癌、抗氧化和抗疟活性，也有助于对其进行更多的科学工作。