Evidence that anthocyanin compounds have beneficial effects for health are increasingly being reported in the scientific literature and these compounds are now widely recognised as potential therapeutic compounds. Berry fruit are rich sources of anthocyanins and berry fruit products or derived beverages can provide 10s to 100s of milligrams of anthocyanins in a single serve. Anthocyanins exhibit complex chemical behaviours in vitro and this will result in complex behaviour in vivo. This review attempts to summarize some aspects of anthocyanin biochemistry and discusses these in the context of what is currently known about bioavailability and absorption. Compared with other flavonoid groups, such as flavonols, relatively little is known about details and mechanisms of anthocyanin absorption and transport and much remains to be discovered.

Objective. To determine whether infiltrating monocytes, neutrophils, or resident macrophages contribute to the early inflammatory response to monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals in vivo.Methods. MSU crystal-induced inflammation was monitored using a peritoneal model of acute gout. The production of proinflammatory cytokines Conclusion. These data indicate that resident macrophages, rather than infiltrating monocytes or neutrophils, are important for initiating and driving the early proinflammatory phase of acute gout.

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At present, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for intestinal absorption of anthocyanins (ACNs). For example, it has not yet been established if ACNs are absorbed through an active transport mechanism, such as the sodium-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT1), or by passive diffusion. Previously, we found that the absorption of ACNs differs between regions of the digestive tract and is maximal in the jejunum, suggesting that an active transport mechanism is involved. In the present study, we examined the effect of d-glucose (main substrate of SGLT1), phloridzin (inhibitor of SGLT1), and quercetin-3-glucose (Q3G, a flavonol) on the absorption of cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G; approximately 5 micromol/L) by mouse jejunum mounted in Ussing chambers. We found that the presence of either D-glucose (10, 20, and 40 mmol/L) or phloridzin (50, 100, and 200 micromol/L) resulted in a small but insignificant inhibition of C3G disappearance from the mucosal solution (decrease of disappearance with glucose, 33%; with phloridzin, 18%; NS). However, when the flavonol Q3G (50 micromol/L) was added to the mucosal solution together with the C3G, the disappearance of C3G was significantly decreased (74%; p < 0.001), and Q3G disappeared instead. In addition, we found phloretin and quercetin, the aglycones of phloridzin and Q3G, respectively, present in the mucosal solution and tissue extracts, indicating hydrolysis of these compounds by the enterocytes of the jejunum. In contrast, the aglycone cyanidin was not detected at all. Our results show that in the mouse small intestine, ACN absorption is not solely dependent on the activity of the SGLT1 transporter, as d-glucose and phloridzin had only a slight effect on uptake. Q3G, however, clearly inhibited C3G disappearance. These results suggest that there might be a competitive inhibition between C3G and Q3G absorption. It is possible that an absorption mechanism other than the SGLT1 is involved, which has a structural preference toward flavonols.