Difference between revisions of "Team:Dalhousie Halifax NS/What"

ANTHOCYANINS

Anthocyanins are a class of water soluble, pigmented compounds derived from the much larger flavonoid class of plant metabolites. Beginning with the amino acid substrate phenylalanine, anthocyanins are produced through a complex biochemical pathway involving the actions of multiple enzymes, as seen in Figure 1. The colour of the compound is determined by the substitution patterns observed on the B ring such that colour intensifies with each additional hydroxyl group. The colour is also dependent on the pH of the medium; in high acidity, anthocyanins are stable flavylium cations that appear red but in neutral/basic solutions the compound is unstable and colourless. There are six common anthocyanins: cyanidin, delphinidin, petunidin, peonidin, pelargonidin, and malvidin. As indicated in Figure 1, delphinidin is the anthocyanin iGEM Dalhousie is studying.

Anthocyanins have tremendous health benefits and can be found in a variety of easily accessible foods such as honey, fruits and vegetables, nuts, cocoa oil and olive oil. Some of these benefits include:
• Prevention of DNA cleavage
• Enhanced anti-inflammatory action
• Regulation of the immune system by boosting production of cytokines
• Modulation of cognitive and motor functions, enhancing memory formation, and prevention of age related declines in neural function
• Reduction of diabetes and pancreatic disorders by regulating free radicals (antioxidant capabilities), minimizing lipid peroxidation, reducing pancreatic swelling and decreasing the blood sugar concentration
• Prevention of cardiovascular disease, and cancer
• Enhanced visual acuity
• Regulation of lipid degradation

Delphinidins are associated with specifics health benefits such as:
• Regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor
• Reduction of vascular inflammatory situations by modulating the expression of cell adhesion molecules ICAM and VCAM
• Reduction of platelet activity which could contribute to thrombosis prevention
• Suppression of the differentiation and function of osteoclasts
• Protection of skin due to low molecular size, high bioavailability and even distribution of delphinidins throughout skin
• Reaction to both reactive oxygen and nitrogen due to large number of hydroxyl groups associated with B ring making them especially effective as antioxidants

Anthocyanins are absorbed during digestion as experiments (Kuntz et al., 2015, p. 2) have indicated there is a decrease in the amount of anthocyanin consumed compared to the amount excreted. The exact mechanism by which absorption takes places is unclear but research (Passamonti et al., 2002, p. 631) has begun to look at the interaction with the bilitranslocase membrane carrier, found in the gastric mucosa, and the stomach. Active rather than passive transport is being considered because experiments (Fernandes et al., 2012, p. 513) performed at pH levels comparable to the stomach (around 1.5-3) indicate that anthocyanins are positively charged hindering their ability to diffuse through the membrane. The interaction of anthocyanins with bilitranslocase was explored by Passamonti et al. who demonstrated that out of the 20 anthocyanins tested, 17 behaved as competitive inhibitors of bilitranslocase transport activity. These results suggest bilitranslocase could affect bioactivity of anthocyanins and that the competitive inhibitors themselves are being translocated.

REFERENCES

Fernandes, I., de Freitas, V., Reis, C., & Mateus, N. (2012). A New Approach on the Gastric Absorption of Anthocyanins. Food & Function, 3, 508-515. doi: 10.1039/c2fo10295a

Klein-Marcuschamer, D., Kumaran Ajikumar, P., & Stephanopoulos, G. (2007). Engineering microbial cell factories for the biosynthesis of isoprenoid molecules: Beyond lycopene. Trends in Biotechnology, 25(9). 417-424. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.07.006

Korzak, I., & Zhang, W. (2004). Anthocyanins, More Than Nature’s Colours. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2004(5), 239-240. doi: 10.1155/S1110724304407013

Kuntz, S,. Rudloff, S., Asseburg, H., Borsh. C., Fröhling,. Unger, F., Dold, S., Spengler, B., Römpp, A., & Kunz, C. (2015). Uptake and Bioavailability of Anthocyanins and Phenolic Acids from Grape/Blueberry Juice and Smoothie in vitro and in vivo. British Journal of Nutrition, 113, 1044-1055. doi: 10.1017/S0007114515000161

Lila, M.A. (2004). Anthocyanins and human health: An in vitro investigative approach. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2004(5), 306-313. doi: 10.1155/S111072430440401X

Passamonti, S., Vrhovesk, U., & Mattivi, F. (2002). The Interaction of Anthocyanins with Bilitranslocase. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 296(3), 631-636. Retrieved from http:// www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X02009270

Watson, R., & Schönlau, F. (2015). Nutraceutical and Antioxidant Effects of a Delphinidin-Rich Maqui Berry Extract Delphinol ®: A Review. Minerva Cardioangiol, 63, 1-11. Retreived from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25892567

Wrolstad, RE. (2003). Anthocyanin pigments-Bioactivity and Colouring Properties. Journal of Food Science, 69(5), 419-421. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2004.tb10709.x