Black chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa L.) click!
One of the richest sources of anthocyanins yet reported in a berry
Let your eye be a guide:
blacker, darker the color = greater the anthocyanin content (an approximation)
[follow the Wikipedia links]
A few facts
Anthocyanins are responsible for the
red, purple, blue, violet, black, (some) orange,
(some) yellow, and mixed colors of plant foods
we see in the produce aisle of the grocery store.
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They exist in the fruit, vegetable,
flowers, leaves, roots, stems and husk of numerous plant foods common in our diets.
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You can shop for anthocyanins simply by choosing colors of fresh or frozen produce -- practice the Color Code!
Let's look in more depth at this important class of plant pigments by examining frequent anthocyanin questions.
Edible violet petals (Viola spp.),
rich in anthocyanins
FAQ: Frequent Anthocyanin Questions
What does the name mean?
Why does the plant make them?
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via sight and scent, to attract pollinators
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attract foragers to eat the fruit, transport the seeds away from the parent plant, and so disperse seeds in their droppings
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defense and preservation -- for some herbivores, bright anthocyanin colors may dissuade them from eating the fruit, as bright colors may be associated with sourness or bitterness (from the phenolic acids)
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in leaves, anthocyanins act as "sunscreens" against ultraviolet radiation and sun stress
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antioxidant functions in the fruit skin and pulp, protecting the progeny, i.e., seeds
Of what value are colors to leaves, stem and roots?
Name plants that do not make anthocyanins.
What is their relationship to the class of plant chemicals called anthocyanidins?
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anthocyanins are usually combined with a sugar molecule whereas anthocyanidins do not contain this molecule, and so are often seen as the "parent" of anthocyanins
Name some anthocyanins and anthocyanidins.
Anthocyanins: cyanidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-rutinoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, rosinidin-3-glucoside
Notice a pattern? The anthocyanins are named after colors and flower petals from which they were first isolated.
Another pattern is the suffix "-3-glucoside" -- the sugar molecule.
There are also "aglycone" (without sugar) anthocyanins.
Anthocyanidins: cyanidin, delphinidin, petunidin, rosinidin, peonidin
How many individual anthocyanins might there be in a colorful plant food like the purple grape?
Concord grape (Vitis vinifera hybrid), an exceptionally
rich source of anthocyanins
What truth is there that anthocyanins can actually change color according to the soil the plant is in?
[follow the Wikipedia links]
What human diseases might be alleviated by eating foods rich in anthocyanins?
What biological effects might anthocyanins have in the human body?
In test tube models of cancerous tumors, preliminary medical research shows possible anthocyanin mechanisms against cancer
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accelerates the rate of cell turnover, called
apoptosis, effectively making cancer cells die faster
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inhibits growth of new blood vessels that nourish tumors, a process called
angiogenesis
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on a molecular level, turns off genes involved with proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation and angiogenesis
Reading
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