Renal excretion of antioxidative constituents from red beet in humans

The aim of the present study was to assess the renal excretion of red beet juice (RBJ) antioxidants in six healthy humans. After a single oral dose of RBJ. The pharmacokinetic parameters obtained from urine were compared to those obtained after ingestion of water on an intra-individual basis. Urine was collected in intervals up to 24 h post-intake. After RBJ ingestion, the betacyanins betanin and isobetanin were excreted in the volunteers' urine (0.28% of the administered dose) and unambiguously identified by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Compared to the ingestion of water, RBJ consumption resulted in a significantly increased urinary excretion of total phenolics (51.1% of the administered phenolics) and other antioxidant compounds (43.9% of the administered compounds) within 24 h.