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Beetroot

Beetroot

Beetroot Scientific Information
Type: Whole Allergen
Display Name: Beetroot
Allergen code: f319
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Latin Name: Beta vulgaris craca
Other Names: Beetroot, Beets, Garden beets, Table beets

Clinical Relevance

IgE-mediated reactions

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Beetroot can occasionally induce symptoms of food allergy in sensitised individuals; however, no studies have been reported to date.

Other reactions

Beetroot is known to produce red urine in some people following its ingestion, whereas others appear to be able to eat the vegetable with impunity.Beeturia is the excretion of red Beetroot pigment (betalaine) in urine and faeces. It occurs in about 14% of humans.

Betalaine is a redox indicator whose colour is protected by reducing agents. Thus, beeturia results from colonic absorption of betalaine: oxalic acid preserves the red colour through to the colon; otherwise, in non-beeturic individuals, betalaine is decolourised by non-enzymatic processes in the stomach and colon.

Beetroot has one of the highest nitrate contents found in vegetables.Beetroot is also high in oxalate.

References
  1. Mitchell SC. Food idiosyncrasies: beetroot and asparagus.Drug Metab Dispos 2001;29(4 Pt 2):539-43
  2. Pearcy RM, Mitchell SC, Smith RL. Beetroot and red urine.Biochem Soc Trans 1992;20(1):22S
  3. Eastwood MA, Nyhlin H. Beeturia and colonic oxalic acid. QJM 1995;88(10):711-7
  4. Yman L. Botanical relations and immuno-logical cross-reactions in pollen allergy. 2nd ed. Pharmacia Diagnostics AB. Uppsala. Sweden. 1982: ISBN 91-970475-09
  5. Finch AM, Kasidas GP, Rose GA. Urine composition in normal subjects after oral ingestion of oxalate-rich foods. Clin Sci (Lond) 1981;60(4):411-8
  6. Fowler MR, Gartland J, Norton W, Slater A, Elliott MC, Scott NW. RS2: a sugar beet gene related to the latex allergen Hev b 5 family. J Exp Bot 2000;51(353):2125-6
  7. Berglund L, Brunstedt J, Nielsen KK, Chen Z, Mikkelsen JD, Marcker KA. A proline-rich chitinase from Beta vulgaris. Plant Mol Biol 1995;27(1):211-6
  8. Petersen A, Stoltze S. Nitrate and nitrite in vegetables on the Danish market: content and intake. Food Addit Contam 1999;16(7):291-9