Anthocyanins, Vibrant Color Pigments, and Their Role in Skin Cancer Prevention

Abstract

Until today, numerous studies evaluated the topic of anthocyanins and various types of cancer, regarding the anthocyanins’ preventative and inhibitory effects, underlying molecular mechanisms, and such. However, there is no targeted review available regarding the anticarcinogenic effects of dietary anthocyanins on skin cancers. If diagnosed at the early stages, the survival rate of skin cancer is quite high. Nevertheless, the metastatic form has a short prognosis. In fact, the incidence of melanoma skin cancer, the type with high mortality, has increased exponentially over the last 30 years, causing the majority of skin cancer deaths. Malignant melanoma is considered a highly destructive type of skin cancer due to its particular capacity to grow and spread faster than any other type of cancers. Plants, in general, have been used in disease treatment for a long time, and medicinal plants are commonly a part of anticancer drugs on the market. Accordingly, this work primarily aims to emphasize the most recent improvements on the anticarcinogenic effects of anthocyanins from different plant sources, with an in-depth emphasis on melanoma skin cancer. We also briefly summarized the anthocyanin chemistry, their rich dietary sources in flowers, fruits, and vegetables, as well as their associated potential health benefits. Additionally, the importance of anthocyanins in topical applications such as their use in cosmetics is also given.

Phenolic Compounds from Leaves and Flowers of Hibiscus roseus: Potential Skin Cosmetic Applications of an Under-Investigated Species

“…Regarding the potential cosmetic applications, it has been proven that ferulic acid inhibits melanin formation [ 6 , 42 ], while p -coumaric acid derivatives possess depigmentation [ 47 , 48 ], anti-inflammatory, and tyrosinase inhibition activities [ 47 , 49 ]. In addition, many investigations highlight additional roles of flavonols and anthocyanins, which may act as skin protective compounds, in particular inhibiting melanogenesis [ 50 , 51 ] and through their action as anti-aging compounds and preventing melanoma [ 52 , 53 ]. In addition, the potential applications of H. roseus leaf extracts for skin disorders could be also enhanced by the presence of phloridzin, which has shown to decrease the expression of UVB-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines in UV-exposed skin [ 54 ].…”

“…In particular, the higher content of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives in HL ( Table 2 ) may contribute to increase their SPF value, since these compounds have an UV absorption around 300–320 nm [ 74 ], which is thus centered in UV-B region. Conversely, flavonoids and anthocyanins, mostly present in flowers extracts, have a broader spectrum of absorbance in which at least two bands are present, with the major band in or near to the visible range, around 350 nm for flavonols and 505–550 nm for anthocyanins [ 53 , 69 ]. Indeed, hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives are produced by plants especially for their protection against UV radiation [ 75 ].…”

Characterization of Food Packaging Films with Blackcurrant Fruit Waste as a Source of Antioxidant and Color Sensing Intelligent Material

“…The AOA of BCW is attributed to its polyphenolic profile. According to the literature, BCW mainly contains delphinidin-3- O -glucoside, delphinidin-3- O -rutinoside, cyanidin-3- O -glucoside, cyanidin-3- O -rutinoside, malvidin-3- O -rutinoside and cyanidin-3- O -malonyl-glucoside, which are responsible for the AOA [ 39 , 40 ].…”

Green Design of Novel Starch-Based Packaging Materials Sustaining Human and Environmental Health

“…Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites, which have aromatic rings and hydroxyl groups in their chemical structure, and are found in various parts of plants, like leaves, fruits, seeds, wood and root [75]. The class of polyphenols includes flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, stilbenes [76], and anthocyanins [77]. Compared to volatile oils, polyphenols have some advantages: they are nonvolatile compounds, they do not have a strong odor and they are not lost by volatilization during storage [78].…”

“…They do exert multiple effects affecting genes' expression implicated in the adaptive stress responses. More than 15,000 polyphenols have been identified in nature, some of them in fruits and vegetables, but also in cereals, oils, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages [77]. Grapefruit seed extract is a rich source of polyphenols (3.92%), especially flavonoids.…”