Beetroot pigments show promise fighting cancer cells in lab tests
Fatima A, Sultan MT, Awlqadr FH, Noman AM, Raza H
Medicinal Plants
The beets you grow or buy owe their deep color to compounds now shown to slow cancer cell growth and quiet inflammation in dozens of preclinical studies.
Betalains are the pigments that make beets, Swiss chard, and amaranth so vividly red and purple, and researchers pooled 25 studies to see what these pigments actually do inside living cells. They found betalains can slow or stop cancer cell growth, push cells toward self-destruction, and dial down inflammation signals, all from a compound you can already find in your garden or grocery bag. Human clinical trials still need to happen before anyone calls beets medicine, but the lab groundwork looks solid.
Key Findings
Betalains showed IC50 values of 64-107 μg/mL against colorectal cancer cell lines, meaning relatively low doses cut cell viability in half.
In A549 lung cancer cells, betalains increased G2/M cell cycle arrest to 49.6% and reduced oral squamous cell carcinoma viability from 89% to 50%.
Anti-inflammatory effects included suppressed NF-κB signaling and reduced TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2, and iNOS levels, alongside stronger antioxidant defenses, across 25 studies with generally low risk of bias.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Beetroot's vivid red-purple pigments, called betalains, killed cancer cells and calmed inflammation in lab and animal studies, suggesting the humble vegetable could inspire future food-based therapies.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Anticancer and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Betalains: A Systematic Review on Preclinical Studies.
Betalains, water-soluble pigments from beetroot and other Caryophyllales plants, have shown promising anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties, though systematic evaluations remain limited. This...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Ancient Amazonian forests were planted and tended by Indigenous farmers
Forests and fruits we romanticize as wild — including many plants now in our kitchens and gardens — may exist in their current abundance precisely because an...
Beetroot or beet is the taproot portion of a Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, or dinner beet, or else categorized by color as red beet or golden beet. Its leaves constitute a leaf vegetable called ...