Red Beets Betalains

Betalains, incandescent tints made using an amino acid called tyrosine, gives beets their vibrant red hue. Plants modify tyrosine by adding other molecules to create other substances, such as morphine in the opium poppies. A tyrosine-making enzyme stays on longer in beets when it is supposed to turn off after a certain amount is made. This is likely the crucial change that beets needed to develop their signature red coloring. At first, there would have been no use for the extra tyrosine. However, at a later stage in their evolutionary history, red beets developed enzymes that made use of the extra tyrosine, creating its red pigment. Research suggests that betalains may help plants weather stress and perhaps attracted pollinators with their
vibrant color, helping beets thrive. The research also has substantial use for medicine. The discovery of an enzyme that increases the tyrosine, which is used to make the painkilling molecule, could have effects on how painkillers are made. A team of scientists are working to see if they can boost tyrosine levels in other plants by giving them the enzyme found in beets. Until then, beets and their betalains are used for the bright red shades in common foods.