Anthocyanins Are Converted into Anthocyanidins and Phenolic Acids and Effectively Absorbed in the Jejunum and Ileum

Abstract

Anthocyanins have been known for their health benefits. However, the in vivo digestion and absorption of anthocyanins through the gastrointestinal tract have not been fully clarified, creating challenges for understanding why anthocyanins have high biological activities and purported low bioavailability in vivo. Twenty-seven male rats were intubated with a 500 mg/kg dose of cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G). Samples from rats’ stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, and serum were collected at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, and 24 h after intubation. Three rats without C3G were used as the control with samples collected at 0 h. C3G and its metabolites in each sample were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-PDA-electrospray ionization-MS/MS. These in vivo studies’ results unequivocally demonstrated that cyanidin and phenolic acids were the primary C3G metabolites absorbed, mainly in the jejunum and ileum, between 1 and 5 h post-ingestion. We speculate that C3G uses phloroglucinaldehyde and protocatechuic acid metabolic pathways in its metabolism in vivo.

Adduct Formation of Acrolein with Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and Its Degradants/Metabolites during Thermal Processing or In Vivo after Consumption of Red Bayberry

“…C3G has been reported to be mainly absorbed through the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, and with the extension of time, the content of C3G in urine decreased rapidly, , which may explain why the ACR adducts of C3G were not detected in mouse and human urine.…”

Anthocyanins as Key Phytochemicals Acting for the Prevention of Metabolic Diseases: An Overview

“…In several studies performed in humans using a variety of anthocyanin-rich sources, the concentration of plasma compounds in the range of 6-2400 mg has been reported [97,[104][105][106][107]. Similarly, an in vivo study in rats showed the presence of ANs in the stomach at a concentration of 2013.2 ± 280.2 µM at 0.5 h after administration of a dose of 500 mg/kg dose of Cy-3-glucoside [108]. Moreover, the absorption of 23.0 nmol of ANs was recorded 30 min after the injection of a concentration of 70.9 nmol in the gastric lumen of rats [101].…”

Current Knowledge on Intestinal Absorption of Anthocyanins

“…Moreover, it is well-known that glycosylated polyphenols, such as quercetin-3- O -β- d -glucoside, quercetin-4′- O -β- d -glucoside, and rutin are absorbed as their aglycon forms and phenolic metabolites as a result of hydrolysis by the gut microbiota and/or intestinal enzymes. ,, Thus, anthocyanins, which are originally glycosides, may be hydrolyzed into the aglycon forms and phenolic metabolites in the intestinal tract after their intake and exert varying bioactivities. These findings also strongly suggest the importance of investigating the absorption and bioavailability of anthocyanins to evaluate the mechanism of their biological action.…”