ABSTRACT
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The anthocyanins constitute a major flavonoid group that is responsible for cyanic colors
ranging from salmon pink through red and violet to dark blue of most flowers, fruits, and
leaves of angiosperms. They are sometimes present in other plant tissues such as roots, tubers,
stems, bulbils, and are also found in various gymnosperms, ferns, and some bryophytes. As
described below, the past decade has witnessed a renaissance in research activities on and
general interests in these water-soluble pigments in several areas. When searching Chemical
Abstracts/Medline for the word anthocyanin, the number of articles obtained was 790 in 2003
compared to 257 in 1993.
