Anthocyanins cohort studies

Antioxidant activity | Inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases | Antiplatelet activity | Interaction with collagen, phospholipids and proteoglycans | Effect on arteriolar vasomotion | Chemoprevention | Cohort studies

In published prospective cohort study on 34 489 postmenopausal women in the US followed up for 16 years (1986 to 2003) a significant inverse association was observed between dietary intake of anthocyanins (main anthocyanins source have been strawberries, blueberries and red wine) and Coronary heart disease, Cardiovascular disease, and total mortality⁽¹⁾.

Furthermore in a large prospective study⁽²⁾ including 87,242 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) II, 46,672 women from the NHS I, and 23,043 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS), a higher total anthocyanin intake was significantly associated with a reduced risk of incident hypertension even after controlling for a large number of covariates including family history, physical activity, BMI, and dietary factors previously associated with blood pressure; the magnitude of the reduction was greatest in the <60-y-old participants. The authors report that among individual anthocyanins, cyanidin, malvidin, and pelargonidin were associated with reduced rates of hypertension, and results were generally stronger in participants <60 y of age (P for age interaction interaction, 0.05 for cyanidin, 0.01 for malvidin, and 0.001 for peonidin and petunidin). The 2 main sources of anthocyanins across cohorts were blueberries and strawberries. In pooled analyses of the <60-y-old group, the consumption of more than one serving of blueberries per week compared with no blueberry intake was associated with a 10% reduction in hypertension (RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.98; P = 0.02). The consumption of more than one serving of strawberries per week was not significantly associated with a reduction in hypertension (RR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.00; P = 0.34). The results were not materially different when we restricted analyses to nonsmokers or nondrinkers.

In a last study⁽³⁾ analyzing after exclusions, data from 70,359 NHS participants, 89,201 NHS II participants, and 40,420 HPFS participants, a higher consumption of anthocyanins and anthocyanin-rich fruit was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and the researchers concluded that while the data suggest an inverse association between intake of anthocyanins and anthocyanin-rich foods (eg, blueberries and apples/pears) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in US men and women, it is possible that these findings reflect other dietary components that co-exist in anthocyanin-rich foods, and randomized trials will be needed to establish the effects that can be specifically attributed to anthocyanins. Further research on anthocyanin-rich foods may lead to more specific recommendations on consumption of fruit, which may contribute to the prevention of T2DM.

1. Pamela J Mink, Carolyn G Scrafford, Leila M Barraj, Lisa Harnack, Ching-Ping Hong, Jennifer A Nettleton, and David R Jacobs Jr "Flavonoid intake and cardiovascular disease mortality: a prospective study in postmenopausal women", Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:895–909.
2. Aedı´n Cassidy, E´ilis J O’Reilly, Colin Kay, Laura Sampson, Mary Franz, JP Forman, Gary Curhan, and Eric B Rimm, Habitual intake of flavonoid subclasses and incident hypertension in adults, Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):338-47. Epub 2010 Nov 24.
3. Wedick NM, Pan A, Cassidy A, Rimm EB, Sampson L, Rosner B, Willett W, Hu FB, Sun Q, van Dam RM., Dietary flavonoid intakes and risk of type 2 diabetes in US men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print]

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