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Betalains are a class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments found in plants of the Caryophyllales, where they replace anthocyanin pigments. Betalains also occur in some higher order fungi. They are most often noticeable in the petals of flowers, but may color the fruits, leaves, stems, and roots of plants that contain them. They include pigments such as those found in beets. ==Description== The name "betalain" comes from the Latin name of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''), from which betalains were first extracted. The deep red color of beets, bougainvillea, amaranth, and many cactuses results from the presence of betalain pigments. The particular shades of red to purple are distinctive and unlike that of anthocyanin pigments found in most plants. There are two categories of betalains: * Betacyanins include the reddish to violet betalain pigments. Among the betacyanins present in plants include betanin, isobetanin, probetanin, and neobetanin. * Betaxanthins are those betalain pigments which appear yellow to orange. Among the betaxanthins present in plants include vulgaxanthin, miraxanthin, portulaxanthin, and indicaxanthin. Plant physiologists are uncertain of the function that betalains serve in those plants which possess them, but there is some preliminary evidence that they may have fungicidal properties. Furthermore, betalains have been found in fluorescent flowers.〔Gandia-Herrero, F., Garcia-Carmona, F., and Escribano, J. (2005) Floral fluorescence effect, Nature 437, 334-334. (doi:10.1038/437334a )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「betalain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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