Effects of Betanin Isolate Administration on the Lung Histopathological Image of Wistar Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Exposed to 40 ppm Formaldehyde

Purpose: This research investigates the effects of betanin isolate derived from beetroot on the lung histopathological image of Wistar rats exposed to 40 ppm formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen. This research aims to evaluate the potential of betanin isolate to prevent lung cancer caused by formaldehyde exposure. Patients and methods: This research uses Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) as sample, which are divided into six groups, control group, positive control group, negative control group, and three treatment groups with different doses of betanin isolate. The research adopts a true experiment with post-test only design. The rats were exposed to 40 ppm formaldehyde for 12 weeks, except for the control group. The lung histopathological image of the rats was examined and graded for dysplasia. The data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test to compare the degree of dysplasia among different groups. Results: The control group is significantly different from all other groups, except treatment group 3. The negative control and control group has significant difference, which means the treatment of formaldehyde in this research is successful in inducing dysplasia. There is also seen a significant difference between treatment group 1 and treatment group 3 which indicates that the protective effect of betanin is dose dependent. There are some tissues with no dysplasia in treatment group 3 that shows the protective effect of betanin in higher dose. Conclusion: This research shows that betanin isolate has a dose-dependent protective effect, with higher dose being more effective. However, the highest dose tested is not enough to prevent dysplasia completely. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.