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CancerQuest > Introduction to Patient Information > Introduction to Cancer Prevention > Cancer Prevention: Plant Products (Phytochemicals) > Cancer Prevention: Anthocyanin

Cancer Prevention: Anthocyanin

Classified as:
Phytochemical, Polyphenol, Flavonoid, Anthocyanidin

Structure of Anthocyanin

Intro and Background
The term anthocyanin refers to a group of compounds found in vegetables, citrus fruits, red wine, and especially in edible berries. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red, blue, and purple colors of many plants. ⁽¹⁾ They may help prevent cardio-vascular disorders, age complications, obesity, inflammatory responses, cancer, and degenerative diseases. ⁽²⁾⁽¹⁾ These compounds also exhibit antioxidant behavior which can help to prevent DNA damage. ⁽²⁾ Anthocyanins quickly leave the body after they are eaten and it is not currently known where and how fast they are absorbed. ⁽¹⁾ These types of compounds have been demonstrated to impact cancer by inhibiting proliferation and angiogenesis and promoting apoptosis of cancer cells. ^{(3) (4)}

Learn MORE about angiogenesis, apoptosis and proliferation

Scientific Research
In the laboratory, anthocyanins have shown to inhibit cancer cell growth in several in vitro ^{(5) (6)} and animal studies. ^{(7) (8)} Researchers have also found that anthocyanins can slow the growth of existing tumor cells in vitro. ^{(9) (10) (11)} No clinical trials have been performed to investigate the ability of anthocyanins to treat cancer in humans. Most of the recent research has been focused on the ability of anthocyanins to prevent cancer rather than treat it. These natural berry components do not seem to have side effects in studies done on cells in vitro ⁽¹²⁾ and have proven to be safe in humans. ⁽¹³⁾

For information about ongoing clinical trials involving anthocyanins, please visit our section on Finding Clinical Trials.

US Food and Drug Administration Approval
At this time there is not conclusive evidence that anthocyanins can effectively prevent or treat cancer. For this reason, anthocyanins have not been approved for cancer prevention by the FDA.

References for this page:

1. Prior RL, Wu X. Anthocyanins: structural characteristics that result in unique metabolic patterns and biological activities. Free Radic Res. (2006) 40(10): 1014-28 [PUBMED]
2. Zafra-Stone S, YAsmin T., Baqchi M., Chatterjee A., Vinson J.A., Bachi D.Berry anthocyanins as novel antioxidants in human health and disease prevention. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. (2007) 51:6, 675-683 [PUBMED]
3. Wu QK, Koponen JM, Mykkanen HM, Torronen AR. Berry phenolic extracts modulate the expression of p21(WAF1) and Bax but not Bcl-2 in HT-29 colon cancer cells. J Agric Food Chem. (2007) 55(4): 1156-63 [PUBMED]
4. Liu, Z., Schwimer, J., Liu, D., Greenway, F. L. et al., Black raspberry extract and fractions contain angiogenesis inhibitors, J. Agric. Food. Chem. 2005, 53, 39093915 [PUBMED]
5. Chen, P. N., Chu, S. C., Chiou, H. L., Kuo, W. H. et al., Mulberry anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside, exhibited an inhibitory effect on the migration and invasion of a human lung cancer cell line, Cancer Lett. 2006, 235, 248259. [PUBMED]
6. Rodrigo, K. A., Rawal, Y., Renner, R. J., Schwartz, S. J. et al., Suppression of the tumorigenic phenotype in human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by an ethanol extract derived from freeze-dried black raspberries, Nutr. Cancer 2006, 54, 5868. [PUBMED]
7. Kang, S. Y., Sreeram, N. P., Nair, M. G., Bourquin, L. D., Tart cherry anthocyanins inhibit tumor development in Apc(Min) mice and reduce proliferation of human colon cancer cells, Cancer Lett. 2003, 194, 1319. [PUBMED]
8. Bobe, G., Wang, B., Seeram, N. P., Nair, M. G., Bourquin, L. D., Dietary anthocyanin-rich tart cherry extract inhibits intestinal tumorigenesis in APC(Min) mice fed suboptimal levels of sulindac, J. Agric. Food. Chem. 2006, 54, 9322 9328. [PUBMED]
9. Valcheva-Kuzmanova S.V., Belcheva A. Colon-available raspberry polyphenols exhibit anti-cancer effects on in vitro models of colon cancer. Journal of Carcinogenesis (2007) Apr 18; 6: 4 [PUBMED]
10. Ferguson, P. J.; Kurowska, E.; Freeman, D. J.; Chambers, A. F.; Koropatnick, D. J. A flavonoid fraction from cranberry extract inhibits proliferation of human tumor cell lines. Journal of Nutrition. 2004, 134, 1529-1535. [PUBMED]
11. Seeram, N. P.; Adams, L. S.; Hardy, M. L.; Heber, D. Total cranberry extract versus its phytochemical constituents: antiproliferative and synergistic effects against human tumor cell lines. Journal of Agric. Food Chem. 2004, 52, 2512-2517 [PUBMED]
12. Stopper H, Schmitt E, Kobras K. Genotoxicity of phytoestrogens. Mutat Res. (2005) 574(1-2):139-55 [PUBMED]
13. Zafra-Stone S, Yasmin T, Bagchi M, Chatterjee A, VinsonJA, and Bagchi D. Berry anthocyanins as novel antioxidants in human health and disease prevention. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. (2007) 51; 675  683 [PUBMED]