Anthocyanins - nature, occurrence and dietary burden

This paper reviews the literature on the occurrence of anthocyanins in foods and their transformation during processing, including the formation of adducts and derived tannins. Data describing the safety of anthocyanins and possible dietary effects are examined. Attention is drawn to some misquotations in the literature and to some serious gaps in our knowledge, in particular, the lack of pharmacokinetic data in humans essential to an understanding of associated biological effects. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry