Safety of a filtrate of fermented garambullo fruit: biotransformation and toxicity studies.

Betalains are important natural pigments for the food industry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicological and toxicokinetic effects of betalain pigments from a cactaceous fruit (garambullo) on male and female Wistar rats. The pigments did not cause death with any of the doses tested, up to 5 g/kg body weight. In the digestibility studies, there was a degradation of the pigment of 26-29% in the large intestine, 20-26% in the small intestine and 24-29% in the stomach. The pigments were eliminated in the urine as betalains. The pigments had no metabolic effect on the hepatocytes for up to 7 hours. Furthermore, there was no increase in the heart rate when the pigments were administered by oral intubation, up to a dose of 5 g/kg. The data suggest that garambullo fruit pigments do not cause acute toxicity.