Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments found in plants that have nutritional benefits, including cancer prevention. They can be red, purple, or blue and act as sunscreen and attract pollinators. Anthocyanins are part of flavonoids, which have potential preventative nutrients. Whole fresh fruit is considered nutritionally superior to other products due to the complex interactions between different chemicals.
Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments found in many plants. These pigments have different functions in the plant and are also of nutritional interest, because they have been linked to nutritional benefits such as cancer prevention. People eat anthocyanins every day and many people have diets rich in these pigments.
Depending on the pH, anthocyanins can be red, purple or blue. The bright red color of an apple is due to the presence of anthocyanins, as is the deep blue of a blueberry. These pigments can be found in fruits, stems and leaves and their levels can vary. New plant growth, for example, is often dyed red with anthocyanins, with the pigment dissolving as the plant develops and the growth matures.
In plants, one of the key roles of anthocyanins is as a form of sunscreen. These dark pigments protect plants from sun damage and reduce the risk of a plant getting burned or withered by the scorching sun. Anthocyanins also act to attract pollinators by acting as bright flags that will be easy for birds, bees, and other organisms to see, which is why many flowers are bright red. The antioxidant qualities of anthocyanin pigments also appear to be important for plant health, as oxidation can harm plants just as it harms other organisms.
These compounds are part of a large family of compounds known as flavonoids. Flavonoids have been pointed to in numerous nutritional studies as potential preventative nutrients that could keep people healthier, and some appear to be able to shrink cancers and treat some diseases. Anthocyanins are no exception to the rule, with these pigments having a number of benefits, mainly in their role as antioxidants. Anthocyanin pigments are one of the reasons fruits are so healthy and why health claims are made on wines and fruit juices.
Like many of the compounds found in plants, anthocyanins are highly complex, and their activities in the body and plants can be the result of interactions between different chemicals, making it difficult to isolate specific compounds for study. This is one reason why whole fresh fruit is sometimes considered nutritionally superior to nut extracts, juices and products, because whole fruit contains a distinctive balance of nutrients that is difficult to replicate, and the actions of these nutrients are not are always known, despite the best efforts of researchers who would like to pinpoint the health benefits of fruit.
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