Anthocyanins and Resveratrol

Anthocyanins and resveratrol are phytonutrients, bioactive chemical compounds that are found in plants and considered to be beneficial to human health. Many claims have been made regarding the benefits to our health from eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially those with strong colours, such as carrots, apricots, blackcurrants, broccoli, purple grapes, red wine, etc., to name but a few of the "superfoods" that are much in the news today. There are many terms of scientific origin which are rapidly becoming common parlance among nutritionists, herbalists, manufacturers and suppliers of health foods and supplements. Frequent reference is made to antioxidants, polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, etc, etc. The list can seem endless and quite bewildering for the layman looking for advice about the best nutrition to promote and support a healthy lifestyle.

Anthocyanins are particularly powerful phytonutrients, and foods containing them are distinguished by their strength of colour, specifically dark red, blue or purple. There have been many scientific studies, and even more that are still ongoing, that have shown the ability of anthocyanins to have many beneficial effects, especially as powerful antioxidants that protect cells from the oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Among plant foods providing the richest sources of anthocyanins are blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, red currants, cherries, and purple grapes. Less expensive sources are aubergines and red cabbage. Beetroot does not contain anthocyanins, its red pigment being due to a substance called betanin.

One of the most powerful anthocyanins is resveratrol, which is concentrated in the skins of red or black grapes, and in the invasive plant called Japanese Knotweed, from which most resveratrol products are extracted. As resveratrol acts in synergy with anthocyanins, the best preparations offer a blend of these powerful ingredients. Anthocyanins and resveratrol belong to the flavonoid family of antioxidant polyphenols.

Recent research has suggested that red wine in moderation can be very good for the health, due to the fact that red wine is produced by macerating the grapes with their skins, and it is the purple grape skins which contain a very high proportion of polyphenols, such as anthocyanins and resveratrol. The so-called "French paradox", where the inhabitants of Southwest France have a particularly long life expectancy despite consuming copious amounts of foie gras and confit de canard, has been attributed to the simultaneous consumption of red wine made from tannat, a variety of grape which is cultivated and harvested according to traditional methods in certain parts of Gascony. Two appellations which use a tannat blend are Madiran and Cotes de St Mont. Tannat is reputed to be the red grape variety that has the highest concentrations of polyphenol-rich tannins.

Manufacturers of nutritional supplements offer a variety of products containing anthocyanin and resveratrol extracts derived from various botanical sources. Among the most well-known are Pycnogenol (a patented extract of French maritime pine bark), and grape seed extract. These extracts contain a concentrated form of anthocyanins called oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs for short. Near-miraculous health benefits have been claimed by some people after taking these extracts, but unfortunately too little is known yet about their long-term benefits for humans. Having said that, recent research has shown some remarkable results, notably an experiment in which cancer cells were shown to self-destruct when exposed to grape seed extract in the laboratory. You can read the story here. 

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