Chemical characterization of yellow-orange and purple varieties of Opuntia ficus-indica fruits and thermal stability of their betalains.

Betalains are plant pigments with biological properties and can be used instead of synthetic colorants to confer color and functional properties to foods. The objective of this work was to carry out the chemical characterization of two varieties of prickly pear of Opuntia ficus-indica, one of yellow-orange coloration (Mandarina) and the other of purple coloration (Vigor), through measurements of chemical parameters and color in pulp, antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds, and betalain content. Considering the thermolability of betalains and their potential applications in food, the thermal stability and activation energy of betacyanins from Vigor variety and betaxanthins from the Mandarina variety were also evaluated and compared with those from beetroot, the main source of betalains. Results for chemical characterization agreed with previous prickly pear reports of other regions, while the thermal degradation kinetics of betalains showed a first-order degradation pattern with respect to time and temperature treatment. Betacyanins from Vigor prickly pear showed similar thermal stability to those from beetroot, which was reflected in similar values of activation energy, while betaxanthins from Mandarina prickly pear showed a higher stability, and therefore a higher activation energy, than those from beetroot. Based on the results, the prickly pear varieties used in this study can be considered as a good source of betalains with potential applications in food and, in addition, the methodology for the evaluation of thermostability can be used to compare the stability of betalains from different sources in a temperature range of 50-90°C. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The varieties of prickly pear used in this study can be considered a good source of red-purple and yellow-orange easily extractable pigments. In addition, we report a methodology that can be used for the evaluation of the thermal stability of these pigments and to compare this stability between different plant sources. Gaining knowledge on betalain thermal stability will make it possible to propose specific applications, for example, in processed foods requiring different pigment stabilities.

Proteomic analysis reveals the mechanism of green regulation in garlic puree induced by purple light stress.

Greening is an undesirable appearance in garlic puree during processing. Our previous study indicated that purple light could induce the greening changes in garlic. In order to investigate the mechanism of green regulation in garlic puree, purple light-induced greening and nongreening garlic puree were used as materials to investigate the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) by sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and data-independent acquisition (DIA) technology. The results showed that a total of 186 DEPs were detected by DIA, with 73 DEPs were up-regulated in greening garlic puree and 113 of them were down-regulated in greening garlic puree. Most DEPs were belonged to 20 functional categories, and mainly participated in post-translational modification and transport of proteins, molecular chaperones (12.93%) and signal transduction mechanisms (10.20%), energy production and transformation (6.80%), carbohydrate transport and metabolism (5.44%) and amino acid transport and metabolism (4.08%), indicating that the biological metabolic pathway, metabolic direction, and metabolic strength efficiency significantly changed in garlic puree after greening. Besides, the physiological and biochemical experiments showed that purple light significantly induced the γ-glutathione transpeptidase activity and prompted the conversion of thiosulfinate into garlic green pigment. This study explained the general molecular mechanism of greening changes of garlic puree in response to purple light. Practical Application Greening is an undesirable appearance in garlic puree during processing, which deteriorate the qualities of garlic. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of green regulation in garlic puree based on proteomics analysis.

In Situ Stability of Anthocyanins in Lycium ruthenicum Murray.

In this research, the effects of drying method, storage temperature, and color protector glucose on anthocyanin preservation in the Lycium ruthenicum Murr. fruit were studied. Compared with hot-air drying, vacuum freeze-drying preserved about 5.8-fold more anthocyanins. The half-life of anthocyanins in the freeze-dried fruit samples with glucose was 3.6 days, 1.8 days, and 1.7 days at 4 °C, 20 °C, and 37 °C, respectively. On the other hand, the half-life values without glucose addition were 2.2 days, 2.3 days, and 2.1 days at each temperature, respectively, indicating that glucose protected anthocyanins at low temperature. The composition and contents of anthocyanins and anthocyanidins in the freeze-dried Lycium ruthenicum Murr., stored for 20 days, were investigated with a HPLC-MS/MS setup. It was found that most anthocyanidins in Lycium ruthenicum Murr. are linked with coumaroyl glucose to form anthocyanins, while glycosylated and acetyl-glycosylated anthocyanins were also detected. Five anthocyanidins were detected: delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, malvidin, and peonidin, and delphinidin accounts for about half of the total amount of anthocyanidins. It is much more economic to conserve anthocyanins in situ with freeze-drying methods and to store the fruits at low temperatures with glucose.

Supplementary Far-Red and Blue Lights Influence the Biomass and Phytochemical Profiles of Two Lettuce Cultivars in Plant Factory.

Three different LED spectra (W: White light; WFR: W + far-red light; WB: W + blue light) with similar photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) were designed to explore the effects of supplementary far-red and blue lights on leaf color, biomass and phytochemicals of two cultivars of red-leaf lettuce ("Yanzhi" and "Red Butter") in an artificial lighting plant factory. Lettuce plants under WB had redder leaf color and significantly higher contents of pigments, such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll (a + b) and anthocyanins. The accumulation of health-promoting compounds, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids and anthocyanins in the two lettuce cultivars were obviously enhanced by WB. Lettuce under WFR showed remarkable increase in fresh weight and dry weight; meanwhile, significant decreases of pigments, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids and vitamin C were found. Thus, in the plant factory system, the application of WB can improve the coloration and quality of red leaf lettuce while WFR was encouraged for the purpose of elevating the yield of lettuce.

Assessment of Biotechnologically Important Filamentous Fungal Biomass by Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy.

Oleaginous filamentous fungi can accumulate large amount of cellular lipids and biopolymers and pigments and potentially serve as a major source of biochemicals for food, feed, chemical, pharmaceutical, and transport industries. We assessed suitability of Fourier transform (FT) Raman spectroscopy for screening and process monitoring of filamentous fungi in biotechnology. Six Mucoromycota strains were cultivated in microbioreactors under six growth conditions (three phosphate concentrations in the presence and absence of calcium). FT-Raman and FT-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic data was assessed in respect to reference analyses of lipids, phosphorus, and carotenoids by using principal component analysis (PCA), multiblock or consensus PCA, partial least square regression (PLSR), and analysis of spectral variation due to different design factors by an ANOVA model. All main chemical biomass constituents were detected by FT-Raman spectroscopy, including lipids, proteins, cell wall carbohydrates, and polyphosphates, and carotenoids. FT-Raman spectra clearly show the effect of growth conditions on fungal biomass. PLSR models with high coefficients of determination (0.83-0.94) and low error (approximately 8%) for quantitative determination of total lipids, phosphates, and carotenoids were established. FT-Raman spectroscopy showed great potential for chemical analysis of biomass of oleaginous filamentous fungi. The study demonstrates that FT-Raman and FTIR spectroscopies provide complementary information on main fungal biomass constituents.

Sambucus Nigra Extracts-Natural Antioxidants and Antimicrobial Compounds.

Due to the health-promoting properties of elderberry fruits, which result from their rich chemical composition, this raw material is widely used in herbal medicine and the food industry. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the antibacterial activity of the elderberry fruit extracts. The research showed that the content of phenolic acids and flavonoids in the extracts determined their antibacterial activity. The research showed that the content of phenolic acids and flavonoids in the extracts determined their antibacterial activity. The following phenolic acids were predominant: chlorogenic acid, sinapic acid, and t-cinnamic acid. Their average content was, respectively, 139.09, 72.84, 51.29 mg/g extract. Rutin and quercetin (their average content was 1105.39 and 306.6 mg/g extract, respectively) were the dominant flavonoids. The research showed that the elderberry polyphenol extracts exhibited activity against selected strains of bacteria within the concentration range of 0.5-0.05%. The following bacteria were the most sensitive to the extracts: Micrococcus luteus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas fragii, and Escherichia coli. Of the compounds under analysis, apigenin, kaempferol and ferulic, protocatechuic, and p-coumarin acids had the greatest influence on the high antibacterial activity of elderberry extracts. The results of the microbiological and chemical analyses of the composition of the extracts were analyzed statistically to indicate the bioactive compounds of the greatest antimicrobial significance.

A Multimethodological Characterization of Cannabis sativa L. Inflorescences from Seven Dioecious Cultivars Grown in Italy: The Effect of Different Harvesting Stages.

The chemical profile of the female inflorescence extracts from seven Cannabis sativa L. dioecious cultivars (Carmagnola, Fibranova, Eletta Campana, Antal, Tiborszallasi, Kompolti, and Tisza) was monitored at three harvesting stages (4, 14, and 30 September), reaching from the beginning of flowering to end of flowering/beginning of seed formation, using untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and targeted (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and spectrophotometry) analyses. The tetrahydrocannabinol content was always below the legal limits (<0.6%) in all the analyzed samples. The NMR metabolite profile (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, and minor compounds) subjected to principal components analysis (PCA) showed a strong variability according to the harvesting stages: samples harvested in stage I were characterized by a high content of sucrose and myo-inositol, whereas the ones harvested in stage II showed high levels of succinic acid, alanine, valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, and threonine. Samples harvested in stage III were characterized by high levels of glucose, fructose, choline, trigonelline, malic acid, formic acid, and some amino acids. The ratio between chlorophylls and carotenoids content indicated that all plants grew up exposed to the sun, the Eletta Campana cultivar having the highest pigment amount. Tiborszallasi cultivar showed the highest polyphenol content. The highest antioxidant activity was generally observed in stage II. All these results suggested that the Cannabis sativa L. inflorescences of each analyzed dioecious hemp cultivar presented a peculiar chemical profile affected by the harvesting stage. This information could be useful for producers and industries to harvest inflorescences in the appropriate stage to obtain samples with a peculiar chemical profile suitable for proper applications.

Rapid analytical methods for the microalgal and cyanobacterial biorefinery: Application on strains of industrial importance.

To realize the potential of microalgae in the biorefinery context, exploitation of multiple products is necessary for profitability and bioproduct valorization. Appropriate analytical tools are required for growth optimization, culture monitoring, and quality control purposes, with safe, low-tech, and low-cost solutions favorable. Rapid, high-throughput, and user-friendly methodologies were devised for (a) determination of phycobiliproteins, chlorophylls, carotenoids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids and (b) qualitative and quantitative carotenoid profiling using UPLC-PDA-MSE . The complementary methods were applied on 11 commercially important microalgal strains including prasinophytes, haptophytes, and cyanobacteria, highlighting the suitability of some strains for coproduct exploitation and the method utility for research and industrial biotechnology applications. The UPLC method allowed separation of 41 different carotenoid compounds in <15 min. Simple techniques are described for further quantification and comparison of pigment profiles, allowing for easy strain selection and optimization for pigment production, with suitability for biotechnological or biomedical applications.

Factors influencing distribution patterns of cyanobacteria in an upland lake of the Kumaun Himalayas, India.

We study the dynamics of bloom-forming cyanobacteria and determined the major driving forces in subtropical lake of the Kumaun Himalayas, India. Water and plankton samples from different sites and depths of the lake were analyzed. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the factors controlling the distribution pattern of cyanobacteria. M. aeruginosa was the most abundant species with an average density of 10.39 × 106 individual/m3 and distributed throughout water depths. The geomorphic threshold modulates soil erosion processes resulting in lower transparency in the Himalayan lake; thereby limiting the growth of Chlorophycea. Effective persistence for M. aeroginosa into different depths is augmented by fluxes nutrient coupling with pigments. The ratio of nitrogen/phosphorus (N/P) had a significant negative correlation (F =-0.884; p = 0.0001) with densities. Expansion of M. aeruginosa in deep de-stratified lake is episodic and their proliferation can restrict by lowering phosphorus.

Blanching impact on pigments, glucosinolates, and phenolics of dehydrated broccoli by-products.

Because of high water content, the valorisation of broccoli by-products requires dehydration that can preserve bioactive compounds. Blanching pre-treatment has been reported to improve the drying rate of broccoli. As a thermal treatment, it promotes also enzyme inactivation. Therefore, in this study, the impact of pre-dehydration blanching step, freeze-drying, air-drying at 40 °C, and microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG) dehydration on the levels of pigments, glucosinolates, and phenolics, was evaluated by UHPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn. When compared to freeze-drying, a technique known to preserve compounds, a pre-blanching step increased the extractability of both pigments and phenolics, while air-drying only retained 49% of the pigments and 70% of phenolics, both without affecting glucosinolates. However, when air-drying was preceded by blanching, less than 50% of compounds were retained. On the other hand, MHG dehydration increased the phenolics extractability by 26%, particularly that of kaempferol derivatives while also retaining the amount of the glucosinolate glucoraphanin, when compared to freeze-drying. Nevertheless, only 23% of indole glucosinolates were recovered and pigments were severely reduced, with lutein accounting only for 32% and only chlorophyll b was observed in trace amounts after MHG dehydration. Therefore, to valorise broccoli by-products as ingredients, different drying technologies may be used when targeting different composition richness: freeze-drying is suitable for pigments and glucosinolates, air-drying is suitable for glucosinolates, while MHG promotes the extractability of phenolic compounds.

[Changes of pigment components in Dendrobium catenatum flower under different storage conditions].

The flower color of Dendrobium catenatum(D. officinale) tends to fade during storage. In order to clarify the influence of storage conditions on the pigment components in flowers, two conditions were applied:temperature and illumination. The contents of pigments in the D. catenatum flower were determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and HPLC, and the changes of them during storage were analyzed. The results showed that illumination and temperature had an effect on the pigments of D. catenatum flower during sto-rage. Illumination significantly promoted the degradation of pigments. The contents of total chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins in the light samples were significantly lower than those in the dark. The total chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins in the light samples were decreased by 46.5%, 63.4%, and 69.2% respectively. Illumination had a greater effect on fat-soluble pigments than water-soluble pigments. Among the three temperature treatments, the contents of chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin were as follows:-20 ℃>4 ℃>room temperature, it is indicated that-20 ℃ was the best temperature to maintain the stability of pigment composition. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, ß-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin in the light samples decreased by 34.8%, 69.0%, 72.5%, 61.6%, 36.1%, respectively. After storage for 5 months, the contents of chlorophyll, carotenoid and anthocyanin constituent at-20 ℃ was significantly higher than those at 4 ℃ and room temperature. The results show that light avoiding and low-temperature can effectively slow down the degradation of pigment components. Therefore, it is suggested that D. catenatum flower should be stored in light avoiding and low-temperature conditions in actual production and processing, which can prolong the usable time.

Individual and interactive role of Trichoderma viride and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on growth and pigment content of onion plants.

The study of interactions between beneficial micro-organisms associated with plant roots is important, because such interactions might either enhance or inhibit the beneficial effects of individual species. The effect of the combined inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and a biocontrol fungus (Trichoderma viride) on different growth parameters and chlorophyll a,b, carotenoids, total chlorophyll and total pigments of onion (Allium cepa) plants was studied under glasshouse conditions. The results proved that AM fungi and T. viride are compatible with each other and their combined use was effective not only in improving onion growth parameters such as fresh and dry weights, root and shoot lengths and leaf area but also increasing total chlorophyll, carotenoids and total pigments content in onion leaves. Where, inoculation of onion plants by AM fungi and T. viride alone or in combination significantly increased bulb diameters of onion plants 20, 12·5 and 17·5% increase; respectively, when compared with control ones. Also percentage of AM fungal colonization increased greatly with T. viride inoculation. Therefore, AM fungi and T. viride could be a good alternate of chemical fertilizer for improving the growth of onion. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Significance and Impact of the Study: The need for increasing agricultural productivity and quality has led to an excessive use of chemical fertilizers; creating serious threats to human health and the environment. The use of biofertilizers is an alternative for sustaining high production with low ecological impact. Thus the goal of this study was to propose a biological technique using arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and Trichoderma viride (plant-microbe interaction) for increasing plant growth that represent a great opportunities for recent agricultural practices. This may be an indication displaying the AM and Trichoderma significance for plant progress and growth.

Color and stability of anthocyanins in strawberry nectars containing various co-pigment sources and sweeteners.

Effects of various co-pigment sources [gallic acid (GA) and the extracts of rose leaf (RLE), cherry stem (CSE), pomegranate rind (PRE) and sour cherry stem (SCSE)] on anthocyanins and colour in strawberry nectars (SNs), sweetened with sucrose (SNS), maltose syrup (SNM) and honey (SNH), were investigated during storage at 20 °C. Honey elicited the highest stabilities of anthocyanins, hyperchromic and bathochromic effects in SNs containing all co-pigment sources, except for PRE. PRE co-pigments were composed of mainly tannins which could interact with SNs proteins and honey proline. As a result of these interactions, PRE co-pigments could not show significant contribution to protection of SN anthocyanins and colour. Among co-pigment sources, SCSE caused the highest stabilities of anthocyanins, hyperchromic effect and colour density, regardless of sweetener used. Interactions between SCSE phenolic acids, and pelargonidin-3-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-rutinoside resulted in the most stable co-pigmentation effect. Thus, SCSE should be preferred in beverages containing pelargonidin-based anthocyanins.

Carotenoid Isotopolog Profiling in 13C-Labeled Leaf Extracts by LC-MS and LC-FTICR-MS.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolite analysis combined with stable isotope labeling offers a powerful tool to study dynamic regulation of metabolic pathways and metabolite fluxes in biological systems. Here we describe a method to analyze the composition of carotenoid isotopologs in 13C-labeled leaf extracts by using liquid chromatography (LC)-MS and LC-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR)-MS. High mass resolution of the latter enables unambiguous assignment of observed mass to a unique chemical formula. Based on peak intensity the relative abundance and the degree of 13C labeling are calculated for individual carotenoid isotopologs.

Evaluating aroma quality of black tea by an olfactory visualization system: Selection of feature sensor using particle swarm optimization.

Aroma is an important index to evaluate the quality and grade of black tea. This work innovatively proposed the sensory evaluation of black tea aroma quality based on an olfactory visual sensor system. Firstly, the olfactory visualization system, which can visually represent the aroma quality of black tea, was assembled using a lab-made color sensitive sensor array including eleven porphyrins and one pH indicator for data acquisition and color components extraction. Then, the color components from different color sensitive spots were optimized using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Finally, the back propagation neural network (BPNN) model was developed using the optimized characteristic color components for the sensory evaluation of black tea aroma quality. Results demonstrated that the BPNN models, which were developed using three color components from FTPPFeCl (component G), MTPPTE (component B) and BTB (component B), can get better results based on comprehensive consideration of the generalization performance of the model and the fabrication cost of the sensor. In the validation set, the average of correlation coefficient (RP) value was 0.8843 and the variance was 0.0362. The average of root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was 0.3811 and the variance was 0.0525. The overall results sufficiently reveal that the optimized sensor array has promising applications for the sensory evaluation of black tea products in the process of practical production.

Pigments and vitamins from plants as functional ingredients: Current trends and perspectives.

The food manufacturing industry has increasingly focused in the development of wholesome and safer products, including certified labeled "super foods," "healthy foods" and "functional foods," which are currently under great demand worldwide. Plant pigments and vitamins are amidst the most common additives incorporated to foodstuff, not only for improving their nutritional status but also for coloration, preservation, and even therapeutic purposes. The recovery of pigments from agro industrial wastes using green emerging approaches is a current trend and clearly the best alternative to ensure their sustainable obtainment and make these ingredients more popular, although still full of challenging aspects. Stability and bioavailability limitations of these active molecules in food matrices have been increasingly studied, and a number of methods have been proposed to minimize these issues, among which the incorporation of a co-pigment, exclusion of O2 during processing and storage, and above all, microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation techniques. The most recent advances and challenges in the application of natural pigments and vitamins in functional foods, considering only reports of the last 5 years, were the focus of this chapter.

Influence of illumination on the greening and relative enzyme activity of garlic puree.

Garlic has attracted considerable attention because of its bactericidal and anticancer effects. However, the greening of garlic purees greatly affects the product quality. This study investigated the influence of light colors and power on the greening of garlic, and determined the key substances of garlic puree greening, including γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT), thiosulfinate, and alliinase. Results showed that purple light source greatly affects greening power, γ-GT, and thiosulfinate. Illumination using a 3-W power lamp could reduce the production of thiosulfinate and alliinase and inhibit the green transformation reaction. Illumination using a 5-W power lamp greatly affected the thiosulfinate content and greening power, whereas that using a 7-W power lamp greatly influenced the γ-GT activity, porphobilinogen content, and alliinase content. Results showed that the green color of garlic puree is greatly affected by the illumination color and intensity, which provides theoretical support for the anti-greening of light garlic puree. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Because garlic puree easily turns green during processing, which affects the product quality and economic value, this study uses controllable light source radiation to influence the greening of garlic puree, hoping to delay or even solve this problem and provide a new simple method to prevent garlic puree from turning greening.

A multifaceted rhizobacterium Paenibacillus lentimorbus alleviates nutrient deficiency-induced stress in Cicer arietinum L.

Nutrient deficiency in soil is one of the limiting factors responsible for stunted growth and poor flowering/fruiting of crops which result in decline in overall agricultural productivity. However, one important strategy to overcome the problem of nutrient deficiency and to avoid use of chemical fertilizers is the use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Paenibacillus lentimorbus NRRL B-30488 (hereafter B-30488), an efficient PGPR has been reported to have various plant growth promoting traits that help crops to mitigate various environmental stresses. Therefore, the present work was designed to examine the application of B-30488 on chickpea growth under nutrient stress condition. Plants inoculated with B-30488 showed positive modulation in physio-biochemical behaviour and mineral nutrient uptake for better growth and development. Alteration in gene expression and metabolic profile under nutrient stress condition in chickpea also supported the stress amelioration capability of B-30488. Principal component analysis statistically proved that improved growth performance of chickpea plants under nutrient stress was mainly due to B-30488 induced modulation of metabolic pathways. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study for analysis of growth promotion and stress alleviation in chickpea plants subjected to nutrient stress in presence of PGPR B-30488.

Perseorangin: A natural pigment from avocado (Persea americana) seed.

High consumer demand has led global food color manufacturers and food companies to dramatically increase the development and use of natural colors. We have previously reported that avocado (Persea americana) seeds, when crushed in the presence of air, develop a red-orange color in a polyphenol oxidase-dependent reaction. The objective of this study was to identify the major colored compound in colored avocado seed extract (CASE). Column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography were used to isolate the most abundant colored compound in CASE. This compound, henceforth referred to as perseorangin, was a yellow-orange solid. Structural analysis was performed using high-resolution mass spectrometry, and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We determined that perseorangin is a glycosylated benzotropone-containing compound with a molecular formula of C29H30O14. Liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis of CASE and uncolored avocado seed extract showed that perseorangin was unique to CASE.

The Bio-Functional Properties of Pigmented Cereals may Involve Synergies among Different Bioactive Species.

This study was aimed at characterizing the anthocyanins and phenolics profile in different varieties of pigmented corn and wheat and in some of their milling fractions. Acid/ethanol extracts were used to assess total anthocyanins, overall antioxidant activity, the overall polyphenol profile, and for evaluating the inhibition of pancreatic α-amylase and of intestinal α-glucosidase. Both enzymes were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by all extracts, but individual extracts had specific effects on each enzyme. Anti-inflammatory response was evaluated by using acid-free extracts and Caco-2 cells transiently transfected with a luciferase reporter gene responding to cytokine stimulation. The immune response of interleukin-stimulated cells decreased significantly in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of 20-50 µM/l anthocyanins from all grains extracts, again with a different efficiency. The inhibitory ability and the anti-inflammatory capability of these extracts are in most cases higher than in similar extracts from other sources, suggesting that activities in each extract may imply specific synergies between anthocyanins and other phenolics.