[5] Betaenone B is therefore not considered toxic to the plant, but will produce leaf spots when present in high concentrations (0.33 μg/μL).

[1][2][3] The compounds were found to inhibit a variety of protein kinases signifying a possible role in cancer treatment.

The structure of betaenone B was determined via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), CD[clarification needed] and optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) measurements.

Their low phytotoxicity and lack of biological significance in human physiology has provoked a fairly small amount of interest in these compounds.

[3] It has been theorized that cytochrome P-450 is responsible for the oxidation at these three positions since its inhibition produces probetaenone 1, the non-oxidized form of betaenone B.