2026-06-21T20:30:48Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/112172026-01-16T01:05:20Zcom_10259.4_2520com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259.4_2521

Gaona Ruiz, María Vallejos Calzada, Saúl Rodríguez Velasco, Ana Trigo López, Miriam Carrillo Pérez, Celia 2026-01-15T07:34:53Z 2026-01-15T07:34:53Z 2025-06 2772-5022 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11217 10.1016/j.afres.2025.101120 Beetroots are vegetables with high antioxidant capacity owing to their content of bioactive compounds such as betalains, polyphenols, and other antioxidants, which serve as quality markers for beetroot products. Conventional methods for determining these compounds rely on time-consuming solid-liquid extractions requiring large amounts of solvents, which is a drawback in the food industry. This study, the first to evaluate the usefulness of the liquid present in ready-to-eat cooked beetroots for functional characterisation, aimed to develop a faster, more sustainable alternative in collaboration with the beetroot industry. Beetroot liquid and extracts (from beetroot flesh after conventional extraction) from 44 beetroot samples were analysed for betalain and polyphenol content and profile, and total antioxidant capacity. Results showed that beetroot liquid reliably indicated changes in bioactive compounds and bioactivity under increasing intensities of thermal treatment, with an identical betalain and polyphenol profile to that obtained via mass spectrometry in extracts. A linear regression model enabled the prediction of beetroot functionality, reducing pre-quantification time from 105 min to 5 min and eliminating the need for 10 mL of solvent per gram of sample. Validation with commercial ready-to-eat beetroots confirmed the method's reliability. This novel approach offers the beetroot industry a rapid, capable of being automated, and more sustainable alternative for quality assessment, ensuring efficient monitoring of beetroot functionality. The financial support provided by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, ERDF) and Regional Government of Castilla y León -Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León- (BU025P23) is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by the Regional Government of Castilla y León (Junta de Castilla y León) and by the Ministry of Science and Innovation MICIN and the European Union NextGenerationEU PRTR. Author Saul Vallejos received grant BG22/00086 funded by Spanish Ministerio de Universidades. Author María Gaona-Ruiz received a research assistant contract (UBU-08-B) funded by the Regional Government of Castilla y León. We also acknowledge the financial support provided by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe” (grant PID2023–147301OB-I00). application/pdf eng Elsevier Applied Food Research. 2025, V. 5, n. 2. p. 101120 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2025.101120 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Ready-to-eat cooked beetroot Beetroot liquid Betalains Polyphenols Total antioxidant capacity Alimentos-Composición Alimentos-Análisis Food-Composition Food-Analysis Fast-track analysis of beetroot using the liquid generated during the cooking process info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Applied Food Research 5 2 101120