Anthocyanins

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Heart and blood sugar health²

  Eating anthocyanins from blueberries is linked to lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

• Open question

  Exercise performance³

  In people, anthocyanins from blackcurrant may help exercise performance, but cherry shows less clear benefits.

• Benefit

  Blood clotting risk⁴

  In people, anthocyanins reduced platelet clumping and a blood clotting protein, which may lower clot risk.

• Benefit

  Gut inflammation risk⁶

  People eating more anthocyanins had lower risk of inflammatory bowel disease, though scientists say more research is needed.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after eating⁸

  In people, eating yogurt with anthocyanins from riceberry rice lowered blood sugar and raised antioxidants.

• Benefit

  Blood sugar after meals¹¹

  In people, anthocyanins from blackcurrant extract lowered blood sugar and insulin early after a high-carb meal.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Blood sugar control¹⁹

  Anthocyanins in Dendrobium officinale blocked starch-digesting enzymes in lab tests, but scientists do not yet know if this helps people.

• Benefit

  How much gets absorbed²⁰

  In lab studies, soy lecithin and orange terpenes helped anthocyanins from açaí pass through gut cells more easily.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Gut bacteria and chronic disease¹²

  Anthocyanins that reach the large intestine can change gut bacteria, which may affect chronic diseases.

• Benefit

  Metabolic syndrome and chronic disease¹³

  Anthocyanins may help with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and fatty liver, but how they work is unclear.

• Benefit

  Plant pigments and disease¹⁴

  Anthocyanins are the natural colors in berries and grapes, and studies suggest they may help protect against some diseases.

• Benefit

  Heart and brain health¹⁵

  Anthocyanins in berries and grapes may help protect against heart and brain diseases, but scientists are still studying how.

• Open question

  Heart health¹⁶

  Scientists do not yet know whether anthocyanins in fruit really protect the heart.

• Benefit

  Health effects of food colour¹⁷

  Anthocyanins are the natural red, purple, and blue colours in plants, and may have health benefits.

• Benefit

  Blood vessel health¹⁸

  Berries are high in anthocyanins, which may help blood vessels work better by boosting nitric oxide.

How it’s made and used

• How much the body absorbs⁵

  Scientists used to think anthocyanins barely get into the blood, but new research suggests the body absorbs more than once thought.

• Berry supplement blood levels⁷

  In people, taking saskatoon berry anthocyanins with every meal may raise blood levels of some more than once or twice a day.

• How the body handles them⁹

  How much anthocyanin from blueberry juice people retain and pass in urine varied widely between them.

• How the body absorbs them¹⁰

  After eating strawberries, people absorbed only a small share of the anthocyanins, and most came out in urine within hours.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Expert panels that weigh all the research. Shown for context: the signal at the top does not count them.

• UN and WHO food additive experts (JECFA), 1982

  Reviewed its safety in 1982.