*2.7. Other Root Vegetables*

Radish (*Raphanus sativus* L., Brassicaceae) is a cruciferous species, well known for its normally white edible fleshy hypocotyls which come in different shapes, sizes, and skin colors. Apart from white-fleshed cultivars, there are also genotypes with pink and purple hypocotyls due to the presence of pigments in the xylem [50]. Pigmentation may also change with the hypocotyl development stage [237]. Purple color implies the presence of anthocyanins, and, according to the study of Reference [51], 60 different compounds were detected and identified as cyanidin glucosides. Most of the anthocyanins are present in acylated forms of cyanidin glucosides which increase their stability, and they could be easily used as natural colorants in functional foods [7,50,238,239], while root extracts may also exhibit beneficial health effects against gastric injuries [240].

Purple kohlrabi (*Brassica oleracea* var. *gongylodes*) is another species of the Brassicaceae family with intense purple color, whose edible part is the swollen fleshy meristem. The pigments are located in the meristem skin and consist of cyanidin and cyanidin glucosides which are responsible for the strong antioxidant properties of the species [54–57]. Examining the antioxidant activity of kohlrabi ethanol and water extracts, Pak et al. [241] observed strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity, and purple kohlrabi extracts had higher antioxidant capacity compared to green kohlrabi extracts. Similarly, comparing green and red kohlrabi, Jung et al. [242] observed that the latter had double the total phenolic content, as well as a higher antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, and peroxynitrite scavenging activity assay (ONOO−)) effect compared to green kohlrabi. In the same study, red kohlrabi methanol extract had stronger anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and antioxidant effects than the green kohlrabi methanol extract.

Taro (*Colocasia esculenta* L.) is a root vegetable of the Araceae family with great genetic diversity in plant morphology, including the color of corm flesh, which can be white, purple, brown, or blackish [57,243,244]. The main detected anthocyanins were identified as cyanidin and pelargonidin glucosides, and they exhibit significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities [58].
