1 Radical Scavenging and Biological Activities of 2 Representative Anthocyanin Groupings from 3 Pigment - Rich Fruits and Vegetables 4

Anthocyanins, the naturally occurring pigments responsible for most red to blue colours 12 of flowers, fruits and vegetables, have also attracted interests because of their potential health 13 effects. With the aim of contributing to major insights into their structure-activity relationship 14 (SAR), we have evaluated the radical scavenging and biological activities of selected purified 15 anthocyanin samples (PASs) from various anthocyanin-rich plant materials: two fruits (mahaleb 16 cherry and blackcurrant) and two vegetables (black carrot and ‘Sun Black’ tomato). PASs from the 17 above-mentioned plant material have been evaluated for their antioxidant capacity, using TEAC 18 and ORAC assays. In human endothelial cells, we analysed the biological activity of different PASs 19 by measuring their effects on the expression of endothelial inflammatory markers, including 20 endothelial adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. We demonstrated that all the different PASs 21 showed biological activity. They exhibited antioxidant capacity of different magnitude, higher for 22 samples containing non-acylated anthocyanins (typical for fruits) compared to samples containing 23 more complex anthocyanins acylated with cinnamic acid derivatives (typical for vegetables), even 24 though this order was slightly reversed when ORAC assay values were expressed on molar basis. 25 Concordantly, PASs containing non-acylated anthocyanins reduced the expression of endothelial 26 inflammatory antigens more than samples with aromatic acylated anthocyanins, suggesting the 27 potential beneficial effect of structurally diverse anthocyanins in cardiovascular protection. 28