ANTHOCYANINS AND ANTHOCYANIDINS AS COMPONENTS OF FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION: BIOCHEMISTRY AND EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

(LITERATURE REVIEW)

Authors

  • I. P. Kuzmak I. HORBACHEVSKY TERNOPIL NATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11603/mcch.2410-681X.2021.i4.12746

Keywords:

anthocyanins, anthocyanidins, pigments, bioavailability, antioxidants, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antidiabetic, anti-obese, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, ophthalmology

Abstract

Introduction. Anthocyanins and anthocyanidins are two types of red-blue plant flavonoids, mostly found in flowers and fruits of higher plants. The main difference between anthocyanin and anthocyanidin is that anthocyanin is a water-soluble vacuolar pigment whereas anthocyanidin is sugar-free counterpart of anthocyanin. They are based on the flavylium cation, an oxonium ion, with various groups substituted for its hydrogen atoms. Anthocyanins are formed by adding sugars to various side groups of the flavylium ion. The pigments are in glycosylated forms. Cyanidin, delphinidin, malvidin, peonidin, petunidin, and pelargonidin are six common anthocyanidins. Besides the use of anthocyanidins and anthocyanins as natural dyes, these colored pigments are potential pharmaceutical ingredients that give various beneficial health effects. Scientific studies, such as cell culture studies, animal models, and human clinical trials, show that anthocyanidins and anthocyanins have antioxidative and antimicrobial activities, improve visual and neurological health, and protect against various diseases.

This review summarizes the latest literature on the biological benefits of dietary anthocyanins, including antitumor activity, anti-inflammatory activity, neuroprotective activity, cardiovascular disease prevention, obesity, and antidiabetic activity, with a particular focus on molecular mechanisms of action. This review will help you better understand these dietary phytochemicals and use them for human health. This paper uses general scientific research methods, including expert-analytical review of scientific sources, analysis and synthesis of literature data.

The aim of the study – to summarize basic knowledge of biochemistry, regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in plants, molecular mechanisms of action, highlight some aspects of anthocyanin antioxidant activity and their bioavailability and discuss recent experimental data related to beneficial effects on human health.

Conclusions. The analysis of literature sources substantiates the relevance of the study of molecular mechanisms of action of anthocyanins, the importance of these compounds as natural dyes, stress markers for plants and prevention of many chronic human diseases and their use to prevent a number of diseases.

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Published

2022-02-23

How to Cite

Kuzmak, I. P. (2022). ANTHOCYANINS AND ANTHOCYANIDINS AS COMPONENTS OF FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION: BIOCHEMISTRY AND EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH: (LITERATURE REVIEW). Medical and Clinical Chemistry, (4), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.11603/mcch.2410-681X.2021.i4.12746

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