Anthocyanins

Dear Colleagues,

Research articles on anthocyanin pigments have escalated dramatically in the last 20 years. While PubMed shows 230 anthocyanin publications in the decade from 1982 through 1991, there were 753 from 1992 through 2001, and 3,043 from 2002 through 2011. Anthocyanin pigments have long intrigued scientists, and earlier investigations documented the dynamic nature of their chemistry and their role in the color quality of foods, particularly wine because of its high economic value. Historically, botanists have investigated these pigments in chemotaxonomic and horticultural research to understand the role of anthocyanins in the color quality of flowers and in fruit ripening. More recently, the widely-publicized “French Paradox” made the public aware of the epidemiological evidence that the French, despite a diet high in saturated fats, had a lower than predicted rate of coronary heart disease compared to people in several Western countries with similar risk factors. It was suggested that the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods including anthocyanins that are abundant in red wine and other fruit-based foods might account at least in part for the phenomena. These findings have stimulated an explosion of investigations on various phytochemicals, their bioactivities and their possible role in human health. As part of an early working hypothesis it was suggested that the antioxidant properties of plant food phytochemicals could be a positive predictor of possible health benefits. Numerous investigations revealed that there was a high correlation specifically between the anthocyanin content of some vegetables, fruits and especially berries and their antioxidant activity in vitro. However, determining the in vivo significance of anthocyanin antioxidant activity in human health has been more difficult since studies have shown that anthocyanins are poorly absorbed and rapidly cleared from the body. Notwithstanding there remains abundant in vivo evidence from closely-controlled animal studies, and an increasing amount of human clinical evidence that anthocyanins do indeed provide beneficial health effects. Complementary mechanistic studies have shown that anthocyanins can affect a variety of physiological processes in a beneficial manner. Most encouraging perhaps is recent epidemiological evidence indicating that anthocyanins specifically are associated with a reduced risk of both cardiac events and type 2 diabetes in free-living human populations.

Research articles covering all aspects of anthocyanin chemistry, such as composition, degradative reactions, biosynthesis, their use as natural colorants, and the possible mechanisms for reducing the risks of chronic diseases are welcomed for inclusion in the Special Issue of Molecules.

Prof. Dr. Ronald E Wrolstad
Dr. Monica Giusti
Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt
Guest Editors

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