Papers of the Week

Evidence demonstrates the pronounced anti-inflammatory activity of a beetroot (Beta vulgaris) dye enriched in betalains obtained using precipitation with ethanol. Herein, we expand upon our previous observations and demonstrate the analgesic and antioxidant effect of betalains. Betalains [10-1000 mg/kg; intraperitoneal route (i.p.)] diminished acetic acid- and PBQ-induced abdominal contortions, and the overt pain-like behaviour induced by complete Freund`s adjuvant (CFA) and formalin (intraplantar; i.pl.) injection. Moreover, betalains (100 mg/kg) administered by various routes [i.p. or subcutaneous (s.c.)] or as a post-treatment reduced carrageenin- or CFA-induced hyperalgesia. Mechanistically, betalains mitigated carrageenin-induced tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, superoxide anion levels, and lipid peroxidation. Betalains also stopped the depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and ferric reducing ability produced by carrageenin, as well as upregulated Nrf2 and Ho1 transcript expression in the plantar tissue of mice. Furthermore, betalains showed hydroxyl radical, 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical (ABTS), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH•) scavenging ability and iron-chelating activity (bathophenantroline assay), and inhibited iron-independent and iron-dependent lipid peroxidation (LPO) in vitro. Finally, betalains-treated bone marrow-derived macrophages exhibited lower levels of cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β), and superoxide anion levels and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Therefore, this betalain-rich dye extracted using a novel precipitation approach presents prominent analgesic effect in varied models of pain by mechanisms targeting cytokines and oxidative stress.