Anthocyanins from Purple Tomatoes as Novel Antioxidants to Promote Human Health

Abstract

Anthocyanins are plant secondary metabolites belonging to the class of polyphenols, whose beneficial roles in the prevention and treatment of several important human diseases have been demonstrated in many epidemiological studies. Their intake through diet strictly depends on the eating habits, as anthocyanins are contained in red and purple fruit and vegetables as well as in some processed foods and beverages, such as red wine. Genetic engineering and breeding programs have been recently carried out to increase the content of anthocyanins in candidate plant species which cannot offer satisfactory levels of these precious compounds. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a vegetable commodity where these strategies have resulted in success, leading to the production of new anthocyanin-rich fruit varieties, some of which are already marketed. These varieties produce purple fruits with a high nutraceutical value, combining the health benefits of the anthocyanins to the other classical tomato phytochemicals, particularly carotenoids. The antioxidant capacity in tomato purple fruits is higher than in non-anthocyanin tomatoes and their healthy role has already been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Recent evidence has indicated a particular capacity of tomato fruit anthocyanins to act as scavengers of harmful reactive chemical species and inhibitors of proliferating cancer cells, as well as anti-inflammatory molecules.

Dietary Phytochemical Screening of Spider Plant (Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.) Accessions From Africa and Asia to Identify Genotypes for Use in Nutraceutical Breeding

“…Another dietary phytochemical that has been reported to affect palatability in spider plant is anthocyanin, which is believed to be responsible for the purple color of the different plants (Mueller-Harvey, 2001;Dasgupta and De, 2007;Gonzali and Perata, 2020). Furthermore, anthocyanins have been reported as having the capacity of lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and bone loss associated with aging (Chen et al, 2021;Hair et al, 2021), as well as lowering blood pressure, improving visual acuity, and preventing diabetes (Rozita et al, 2018).…”

Genetic Diversity of Soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) with Black Seed Coats and Green Cotyledons in Korean Germplasm

“…Soybeans with black seed coats do not differ from the yellow commodity soybeans in seed composition and plant morphology, and the black seed coat is caused by the accumulation of flavonoids and anthocyanins in the epidermal layer of the soybean seed coat [9][10][11]. Anthocyanins are important functional nutrients and antioxidants that benefit human health by having a positive effect on obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases [12,13].…”

Preventive Applications of Polyphenols in Dentistry—A Review

“…Therefore, oolong tea contains less catechin than green tea. The catechins contained in oolong tea are epigallocatechine, epicatechine, epigallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, gallocatachine, catechine, gallocatechin gallate, catechin gallate and epigallocatechin 3- O -(3- O -methyl) gallate [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”