[lou_lou]

Got Anthocyanins?

http://www.newhope.com/nutritionscie...c_01/antho.cfm

These plant pigments are more than coloring agents for fruit juices, wine, and other beverages. They also contain an array of health-promoting benefits.
By Marilyn Sterling, R.D.

Eaten in large amounts by primitive humans, anthocyanins are antioxidant flavonoids that protect many body systems. They have some of the strongest physiological effects of any plant compounds, and they are also things of beauty: anthocyanins provide pigment for pansies, petunias, and plums. (Anthocyanins are a separate class of flavonoids from proanthocyanidins, discussed in NSN 2000;5(6):231-4.)

Anthocyanins are the active component in several herbal folk medicines such as bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), which was used in the 12th century to induce menstruation and during World War II to improve British pilots' night vision. Scientists are now discovering how such anthocyanins work and are beginning to appreciate their health benefits.

Anthocyanins link with sugar molecules to form anthocyanins; besides chlorophyll, anthocyanins are probably the most important group of visible plant pigments. Anthocyanins, a flavonoid category, were found in one study to have the strongest antioxidizing power of 150 flavonoids.1 (Approximately 4,000 different flavonoids have been identified.)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently tested the abilities of berry varieties to protect against oxidative damage. In general, blackberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of any fruit. Different varieties of the same species have varying amounts of anthocyanins. The varietal cultivars with the highest antioxidative capacity against superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and other oxidants are hull, thornless, and jewel raspberries; early black cranberries; and Elliot blueberries.2

Anthocyanidins and their derivatives, many found in common foods, protect against a variety of oxidants through a number of mechanisms. For example, red cabbage anthocyanins protect animals against oxidative stress from the toxin paraquat.3 Cyanidins, found in most fruit sources of anthocyanins, have been found to "function as a potent antioxidant in vivo" in recent Japanese animal studies.4 In other animal studies, cyanidins protected cell membrane lipids from oxidation by a variety of harmful substances.5 Additional animal studies confirm that cyanidin is four times more powerful an antioxidant than vitamin E.6 The anthocyanin pelargonidin protects the amino acid tyrosine from the highly reactive oxidant peroxynitrite.7 Eggplant contains a derivative of the anthocyanidin delphinidin called nasunin, which interferes with the dangerous hydroxyl radical-generating system—a major source of oxidants in the body.8

interesting links -
Dietary Supplement Information Bureau http://www.supplementinfo.org/
Citizens For Health http://www.citizens.org
Herb Research Foundation http://www.herbs.org
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements http://www.ifoam.org/
National Center For The Preservation Of Medicinal Herbs http://www.ncpmh.org
National Products Association http://www.naturalproductsassoc.org/
Organic Farming Research Foundation http://www.ofrf.org/
Organic Trade Association http://www.ota.com/
The Organic Center http://www.organic-center.org

[lou_lou]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9x011W817s&feature=user

do not eat biotech food...please

[lurkingforacure]

Couldn't help but notice the reference to bilberry, which I take occasionally for vision...for those interested, Mediherb makes a strong concoction of the stuff, it's about sixty bucks for a tiny bottle but you only put in a teaspoon into a glass of water, so it lasts a long time. It's not too bad tasting, comparatively, of course the stronger it is, the more potent and I wouldn't want to add too much more than the recommended teaspoon for fear of the gag reflex!

[lou_lou]

http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...76005620070327

[lou_lou]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10962130

Antioxidant activity of nasunin, an anthocyanin in eggplant peels.
Noda Y, Kneyuki T, Igarashi K, Mori A, Packer L.
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 251 Life Sciences Addition, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.

The free radical scavenging activities and inhibitory effect of lipid peroxidation of a delphinidin derivative in eggplant were investigated. Delphinidin-3-(p-coumaroylrutinoside)-5-glucoside (nasunin), an anthocyanin, was isolated as purple colored crystals from eggplant peels. Using electron spin resonance spectrometry and 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), hydroxyl radicals (OH) or superoxide anion radicals (O(2)(-)) generated by the Fenton reaction or the hypoxanthine-xanthine oxidase system were measured as DMPO-OH or DMPO-OOH spin adducts. L-Ascorbic acid 2-[3, 4-dihydro-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2-(4,8, 12-trimethyltridecyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-6yl-hydrogen phosphate] potassium salt (EPC-K1) and bovine erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) were used as standards for OH and O(2)(-) scavengers, respectively. Nasunin showed potent O(2)(-) scavenging (143+/-8 SOD-equivalent U/mg) and OH scavenging (0. 65+/-0.07 EPC-K1-equivalent micromol/mg) activities. Then, by changing the concentration of DMPO to vary the trapping rate of OH, the presence of a competitive reaction between nasunin and OH was studied.

The 50% inhibition dose (ID(50)) obtained from the inhibition curve did not change, indicating OH scavenging of nasunin is not due to direct scavenging but inhibition of OH generating system by chelating ferrous ion. Nasunin protection against H(2)O(2)-induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain homogenate was measured at 586 nm using the indicator of malonaldehyde and 4-hydroxyalkenals. Nasunin (<50 microM) protected against lipid peroxidation of brain homogenates. The findings suggest that nasunin is a potent O(2)(-) scavenger and has protective activity against lipid peroxidation.

PMID: 10962130 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related ArticlesAntioxidant activity of nasunin, an anthocyanin in eggplant. [Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 1998] Antioxidant activities of pomegranate fruit extract and its anthocyanidins: delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin. [J Agric Food Chem. 2002] Superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of vegetable extracts measured using electron spin resonance. [Biochem Mol Biol Int. 1999] Antioxidative effects of a processed grain food. [J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1994] Inhibitory activity of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) in paraquat-induced microsomal lipid peroxidation--a mechanism of protective effects of EGCg against paraquat toxicity. [Toxicology. 2003] » See all Related Articles...