Anthocyanins are water-soluble plant pigments that give many fruits and flowers their red, purple, and blue colors. They are a type of polyphenol called flavonoids that provide potential health benefits. Research shows anthocyanins may decrease risks of brain disorders and cardiovascular disease due to their antioxidant effects. They are also being studied for anti-inflammatory and eye health properties. Anthocyanins are found in many fruits and vegetables and are being investigated as natural food colorants and dietary supplements. Further research is still needed to better understand anthocyanin bioavailability and potential health impacts.

1. ANTHOCYANINS AND
THEIR WELFARE
HUMAN BODY
SUBMITTED BY:- BALWANT INSA
ROLL NO:-1117267

2. INTRODUCTION
 Anthocyanins were named for the first time in 1835
by German botanist Ludwig Marquart from the
Greek words of anthos (means flower) and kyanos
(means blue).
 Anthocyanins constitute the largest and probably
the most important group of water-soluble natural
pigments. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red,
purple, and blue colors of many fruits and flowers
as well as derived foods.

3.  Chemically, anthocyanins belong to a class of
polyphenols called flavonoids, which constitute the
largest group, representing 60% of total dietary
polypenols .
 Currently the complete structures of more than
700 anthocyanins present in natural sources have
been described and above 200 have been
tentatively identified

4.  Functional studies have shown that intake of
anthocyanins and one of its major components cyanidin-
3-O-glucoside (C3G) is associated with the decrease in
risks of brain disorders, such as cerebral ischemia ,
Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD).
 The interest in anthocyanin research has renovated in
recent times as evidences about their potential
benefits in human health have accumulated, and novel
applications of anthocyanin pigments as colorants or
putative bioactives to be exploited by food,
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries have arisen.

5. STRUCTURE OF ANTHOCYANIN
 Anthocyanins belong to a large group of
polyphenolics named flavonoids, which are
secondary metabolites synthesized by higher plants
 Anthocyanins exist in plants in the form of
glycosides predominantly, and the basic structure
of anthocyanins contains an anthocyanidin core
that is attached with secondry sugars and organic
acids in the case of acylated anthocyanins.

6.  although only six are widespread, with more than
90% of the naturally occurring anthocyanins based
on them; these are: cyanidin (around 31%),
delphinidin (22%), pelargonidin (18%), petunidin,
peonidin, and malvidin (21% together).

7. SOURCES OF ANTHOCYANINS
 Anthocyanins exist in almost every plant, in different organs as fruits,
flowers, stems, leaves, and roots.
 They are especially present in flowers and fruits, with the highest
concentrations found in red grapes and berries.
 Out of several food products screened including fruits, vegetables, nuts
and dried fruits, and spices, among others, those foods where
anthocyanins were found are pistachios, black and small red beans,
cabbages, eggplant, lettuces, onions, red radishes, and several fruits
such as apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, chokeberries,
cranberries, black and red currant, elderberries, gooseberries, grapes,
nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, and strawberries

8. AS A NATURAL COLOUR
 Anthocyanins demonstrate a high potential to be used as natural
colorants due to their attractive orange, red, and purple colors and
water solubility that allows their incorporation into aqueous food
systems.
 They may serve as an alternative to the use of synthetic colorants,
increasing beneficial polyphenol consumption
 Acylated anthocyanins are usually used as food colorants because of
superior stability over nonacylated anthocyanins.
 The external factors, such as temperature, pH, and the type of solvent,
also have a profound impact on the colour of anthocyanins.

9. AS A FOOD ADDITIVES
 Plant phenolics are well known to play an important role in the defense against
pathogens. Thus, their effects on human intestinal bacteria, both beneficial and
pathogenic, have been extensively investigated
 Anthocyanins are approved as natural food colorant additives in both the
European Union and the United States.
 In the EU, the anthocyanins receive the common code of E-163 regardless of
their origin (Commission Directive, December 2008; Regulation (EC) No
1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16, December
2008; Commission Regulation, November 2011).

10.  The interest in anthocyanins and other natural
pigments as food colorants to replace synthetic dyes
has increased significantly over the last years due to
safety issues and consumers’ concerns.

11. IN HUMAN DIET
 The most commonly eaten anthocyanin sources belong to the
fruits in family Rosaceae (blackberries, raspberries, strawberry,
cherries, plums, apples), whose composition is based on cyanidin
derivatives as major anthocyanins.
 Interests in dietary polyphenols, including anthocyanins, drastically
intensified after the recognition of their potential health benefits.
 Epidemiological studies have suggested a reverse association
between high consumption of polyphenols and incidence of some
chronic diseases.

12.  For example, drinking red wine regularly has been
associated with the relatively low incidence of
coronary heart disease in French people despite a
high-fat diet, well known as the French Paradox.
 To date, suggested health benefits of anthocyanins
have been in some way related to their antioxidant
activity.

13. IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
 Dietary antioxidants, including anthocyanins, have the potential to
increase serum antioxidant capacity and thereby protect against
LDL oxidation and prevent cardiovascular diseases
 Research initially focused on anthocyanin-rich red wine because of
the famous French paradox.
 Using a chemiluminescent assay of serum antioxidant capacity
(SAOC), the effects in normal human subjects ingesting 300 mL of
red wine, white wine, or high dose (1000 mg) of vitamin C were
studied

14. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
 Inflammation is a complex biological response in response to
tissue injury.
 Cy aglycone was reported to possess better anti-inflammatory
activity than the positive control aspirin in the COX activities
assays .
 All the anthocyanin fractions demonstrated inhibitory effect
on COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes, whereas strawberry,
blackberry, and raspberry showed the highest activity.

15.  In vivo study, the therapeutic efficacy of blackberry
anthocyanins (Cy-3-glu accounted for 80%) was
investigated in rats with carrageenan-induced lung
inflammation
 All parameters of inflammation were effectively reduced
in a dose-dependent manner by anthocyanins.

16. IN IMPROVEMENT OF EYE FUNCTION
 Anecdotal evidence suggests that consumption of
anthocyanins can improve eye vision .
 In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study with healthy
human subjects, feeding black currant anthocyanin concentrate at
12.5, 20, and 50 mg per subject resulted in dose dependent
lowering of the dark adaptation threshold.
 Recently, a study on blueberry anthocyanin distribution in pig
tissues confirmed that anthocyanins accumulated in pig eyes after
feeding a blueberry diet for 4 weeks

17. BIOAVAILABILITY
 Studies concerning anthocyanin human benefits
and anthocyanin bioavailability constituted a
paradox
 It is generally known that compounds must be
bioavailable in order to interact with the human
metabolism and reach tissues and organs
 Recent studies have demonstrated that
bioavailability was greatly underestimated due to
different reasons

18. FUTURE RESEACH
 Interest in anthocyanins has increased substantially over the past decades, and it
is expected to continue to increase.
 There is a combination of driving forces for this increase, including interest from
consumers, the food industry, and the scientific community.
 Consumers are willing to pay more for products that are perceived more
natural, healthier, and with potential disease prevention benefits in addition to
their nutritional value.
 This, in turn, is stimulating the food industry toward the incorporation of more
natural ingredients into foods, including the use of anthocyanin-based colorants
as an alternative to the use of synthetic dyes.

19. REFERENCES
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