ABSTRACT
Anthocyanins have important functions in plant physiology and may have health effects in the prevention of chronic diseases. Berries are particularly rich sources of anthocyanins (Wu et al. 2006a). Different types of berries provide unique patterns of anthocyanins to study due to both differences in anthocyanin concentrations and differences in individual anthocyanins. (Wu et al. 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006b). For example, total anthocyanin concentrations in freeze-dried strawberries, blueberries, and black raspberries were found to be 2.9, 27.2, and 43.7 mg/g dry weight, respectively. Aside from the considerable differences in anthocyanin concentration, the anthocyanin composition among the berries can also vary. Black raspberries are rich in cyanidin-based anthocyanins; blueberries contain a complex mixture of delphinidin-, cyanidin-, peonidin-, petunidin-, and malvidin-glycosides; and
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 153 Anthocyanins in Whole Berries/Foods and Obesity .............................................. 154 Isolated Anthocyanins In Vivo and Obesity ........................................................... 155 Anthocyanins and Lipid Metabolism ..................................................................... 155 Anthocyanins and Hormone/Cytokine Production ................................................ 159
Leptin ................................................................................................................ 159 Insulin ................................................................................................................ 160 In…ammatory Cytokines .................................................................................... 160
Anthocyanins Structure Considerations ................................................................. 161 Anthocyanins and Hyperglycemia ......................................................................... 161 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 162 References .............................................................................................................. 162
strawberries (Wu et al. 2006a) are one of only a few berries in which pelargonidin is the primary anthocyanidin. Pelargonidin is much more stable and/or more readily absorbed in vivo than other anthocyanins. Even though the concentration of pelargonidin-based anthocyanins in strawberries is low relative to anthocyanins in other berries, its apparent absorption may be as much as 10 times higher (Wu et al. 2004; Carkeet et al. 2008). Specižc health effects of anthocyanins in vivo are still under investigation, although there are several possibilities related to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer (Hou 2003; Martin et al. 2003; Prior 2004; Prior and Wu 2006; Alarcon-Aguilar et al. 2007; Kwon et al. 2007; Sasaki et al. 2007; Singletary et al. 2007; Zafra-Stone et al. 2007; Tsuda 2008).
