What are Anthocyanins?

The molecules that form anthocyanins are water soluble pigments and they are found everywhere including cannabis and plant in general they are the largest group of natural pigments with over 633 recoded so far.

All of the colours of the rainbow that anthocyanins come in they also display some impressive therapeutic content with the molecules being linked with research and Cell studies including human clinical trials and animal research, suggesting that these molecules can prevent disease and improve well being.

What Colour are they and what do they represent?

Anthocyanins are shown in responsible for the shining colours of purple, red, and blue found in many species of vegetables, fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Anthocyanins are shown in bright colours in red vegetables, sweet potatoes and leaves on trees these are anthocyanins at work.

Specifically these molecules are also responsible for flowers on cannabis plants when they look purple and orange with flecks of red anthocyanins at work again with some genetic strains of cannabis to help to develop a high levels of anthocyanin when they are flowering, so you can specifically add anthocyanins to the beneficial molecules of the cannabis plant

So where does the word come from  “anthocyanin”  derives from the Greek from the word “ánthos”, meaning flower, and “kyanó” meaning cyan or dark blue.

Anthocyanins are also used as natural dyes in foods and are often used on an industrial basis.

Anthocyanins also use they’re striking colours to attract insects and animals for pollination so in a botanical sense they are essential to the whole planet plants use they’re colour to spread seeds.

Where else are they found

Anthocyanins  can be found in the most colourful foods you know we often hear about nutritionists saying eat the rainbow thats because food that are high in anthocyanins are extremely good for you.

All relish foods either soil grown or leaf grown are high in anthocyanins think of these following foods and your on the right track blackberries, red cabbage, black plums black raspberries, red cabbage, black plums red raspberries and red radishes, you will also find high concentrations of anthocyanins in any purple or red leafs plants grains and root vegetables like beetroot.

Research says that!

Research linked to anthocyanins suggest that the molecules can help prevent and manage existing conditions with the phytochemicals helping with the following.

• Anti-inflammatory
• Anticarcinogenic
• May prevent cardiovascular diseaseAntioxidant
• Obesity control

As these naturally occur in the cannabis sativa strain and have been tested at length compared to other compounds like cannabinoids and terpenes anthocyanins have

undergone a lot of testing both humans and animals so let’s look at the effects further.

Antioxidant effects

Biological cell and human and animal studies have shown the antioxidant effect of anthocyanins these antioxidants are extremely important as they do the heavy lifting of neutralising free radicals these are rogue molecules that can cause cancer through cell damage, proteins and DNA can also be damaged without free radicals.

Oxidisation like you see when metals bubbling up is damage to the compounds neutralising this with anthocyanins can help reduce cardiovascular disease, skin ageing ,inflammation and cancer.

A paper from he journal Agricultural and Food Chemistry thoroughly tested the antioxidant activity of two anthocyanin molecules in the Research they found the same effects on cells as the vitamin E.

Do you drink wine ? Well research conducted on human cells showed that this could be good for you because of high levels anthocyanins present in the drink theses are capable of protecting cells against oxidation promoting long red cell life and improving ageing.

The anti oxidant of effects anthocyanins in living animals is clear to see by this  white paper  the Free Radical Biology and Medicine which tested the antioxidant capacity of anthocyanins so they gave that rats a vitamin E-depleted diet for 12 weeks and studies the extra oxidation of the cells.

To counter the depletion on the diet for 12 weeks the researchers fed the rats a high in anthocyanin exrtact this improved the plasma antioxidant significantly.

So the research is conclusive anthocyanins are good for you an promote good cell life and foods and drink that are high in anthocyanins can highly improve anti oxidation in humans and that these compounds could be useful in humans where they have low levels of vitamin e.

What are the anti-inflammatory effects

Inflammation may also be reduced by anthocyanins there are a selection of proteins known as cyclooxygenase or COX that help to feed inflammation by converting fatty acid arachidonic acid  into a different type of lipid known as prostaglandins.

Anthocyanins are thought to stop to their activity this can reduce inflammation in many parts of the body.

Extracts of types of cherry, blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, elderberry, raspberry, and strawberry were used in a Study which tested the effects of the nthocyanin extracts on COX these extracts were found to be extremely effective at reducing COX activity therefore reducing inflammation

The Anthocyanins found in strawberry, raspberry and blackberry were most effective infant simper to ibuprofen  but more natural.

A blackberry anthocyanin was use on rats to reduce inflammation in this  white paper these results also showed a massive improvement in anti-inflammatory effects.

So is it Anticarcinogenic ?

Anthocyanins have been shown in many studies to have an anticarcinogenic effect so eating foods with these properties can reduce the mutation of damaged cancer cells. The specific molecules seem to be able to reduce cancer cell production on in many ways  research

has found that anthocyanins control them to inhibit cellular transformation, induce apoptosis of tumour cells and inhibit cell proliferation which is good news for CBD oil lovers and those who enjoy the rainbow diet.

Damaged cells or cancer cells have out of control cell cycles this makes the reproduce in a dysfunctional manner reproduction many times depending omn the type of cancer, normal cells will only reproduce a certain amount of times and the they will die making way for newer cells.

The problem with malfunctioning cells is they disobey all biological rules and keep producing the malfunctioning cells this then develops tumours some evidence points towards anthocyanins halting the reproduction of these damaged cells. Research published in the

The journal of  Nutrition and Cancer found that anthocyanins can be capable of stopping the proliferation or reproduction of cancer cells and they do this without stoping normal cell reproduction what a bonus.

Research shows that they send signals to the damaged cancer cells to stop them multiplying or at least slow them down.

Programmed cell death is dogged by cancer cells they avoid the process of apoptosis the body kills dysfunctional cells but cancer cells avoid this process berry anthocyanins act in these three different pathways like switches β-catenin, Wnt, and Notch as shown in this research to stop the growth of human non-small-cell lung cancer.

Anthocyanins can also target mitochondria to destroy the damage cancer cell so tumour cells cannot reproduce

So can anthocyanins prevent cardiovascular disease?

Hardening of the arteries is the main issue that causes cardiovascular diseases a condition known as atherosclerosis the indications from Research seems to lean towards the anti-inflammatory effects this could greatly improve the risk of dying from strokes or heart attacks.

The oxidisation of the free radicals in the blood begin to cause LDL and contribute to atherosclerosis and heart disease Low-density lipoprotein, the so-called “bad” type of cholesterol which hardens the highways fro the blood and can cause heart disease .

But increasing the intake anthocyanins  is thought to boost the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant levels and prevent the oxidation of LDL pithing the arteries this will in turn protect against hear disease.

Obesity control will they make me thin?

Obesity plays a massive part of the health of humans and anthocyanins can address obesity a condition that affects the world population by around 13%, obesity can be controlled and regulated by anthocyanins because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, this Research which has been published by Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry ran tests on mice with high concentrations of anthocyanins with a high fat regime, the mice experienced weight loss compared to those who were left on the diet.

Concluding that feeding mice purified anthocyanins from strawberries or blueberries greatly impacted on the obesity of the subjects.

Some trails in humans have given mixed results when studying anthocyanins on obesity in humans one Research paper gave overweight subjects a (GIMM) gastrointestinal microbiome modulator that was mainley blueberry based anthocyanins, in the four weeks after the group that received the GIMM experienced less of a desire to eat than the placebo group.

Side effects and safety

Anthocyanins are not damaging to humans because we have been consuming them since we were foragers as the phytonutrients have  No bad effects by consuming the anthocyanin-rich food intact a diet high in anthocyanins is thought to be good for humans .