Anthocyanins belong to the phytochemical group of Flavonoids and are found in nature, in fruit, vegetables, tea, red wine they are recognizable by their blue pigmentation. Anthocyanins have strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, and their colour depends on the degree of hydroxylation/methylation, on the pH level (with flowers over time they tend to become darker due to transporters that carry potassium ions instead of protons) and from chelation with metals (e.g. the addition of a metal to hydrangeas makes it turn blue).
Anthocyanins belong to the flavonoid family. These molecules consist of a molecule of benzene fused with a pyran (a heterocyclic ring containing oxygen), in turn linked with a phenyl group, which can then be linked to different substituents. This complex molecule is called the flavy cation which is the basic structure of all anthocyanins.
Flavonoids, perhaps the single most important group of phenolic compounds in food, comprise a group of over 4000 aromatic vegetable compounds. In this group there are:
- anthocyanins (cyanidin, pelargonidine, petunidin)
- flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol)
- flavones (luteolin, apigenin)
- flavanones (myricetin, naringin, esperetin, naringenin)
- flavan-3-oils (catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin)
- isoflavones (genistein, daidzein)
Daily intake is estimated at 500 mg to 1 gram (1).
Anthocyanins, which are used as a food coloring, are widely distributed in human diets, suggesting that we ingest large amounts of anthocyanins from plant-based foods. Mice were fed control, cyanidin 3-glucoside-rich purple corn color (PCC), high fat (HF) or HF + PCC diet for 12 wk. Dietary PCC significantly suppressed the HF diet-induced increase in body weight gain, and white and brown adipose tissue weights. Feeding the HF diet markedly induced hypertrophy of the adipocytes in the epididymal white adipose tissue compared with the control group. In contrast, the induction did not occur in the HF + PCC group. The HF diet induced hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia. These perturbations were completely normalized in rats fed HF + PCC. An increase in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA level occurred in the HF group and was normalized by dietary PCC. These results suggest that dietary PCC may ameliorate HF diet-induced insulin resistance in mice. PCC suppressed the mRNA levels of enzymes involved in fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis and lowered the sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 mRNA level in white adipose tissue. These down-regulations may contribute to triacylglycerol accumulation in white adipose tissue. Our findings provide a biochemical and nutritional basis for the use of PCC or anthocyanins as a functional food factor that may have benefits for the prevention of obesity and diabetes (2).
Cosmetics
- Colorant. This ingredient has the primary function of colouring the solution in which it is inserted in a temporary, semi-permanent or permanent manner, either alone or in the presence of the complementary components added for colouring.
Molecular Formula: C15H11O+
Molecular Weight: 207.252 g/mol
CAS: 11029-12-2 39405-56-6 85763-44-6
EC Number: 600-954-3
Synonyms:
- Anthocyanidins
- 2-phenylchromenylium
- InChI=1/C15H11O/c1-2-6-12(7-3-1)15-11-10-13-8-4-5-9-14(13)16-15/h1-11H/q+
References_______________________
(1) Anthocyanins and Human Health: An In Vitro Investigative Approach
(2) Tsuda T, Horio F, Uchida K, Aoki H, Osawa T. Dietary cyanidin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside-rich purple corn color prevents obesity and ameliorates hyperglycemia in mice. J Nutr. 2003
Anthocyanins 
