Increasing evidence suggests that anthocyanins, as natural antioxidants, exert anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, vaso-protective and anti-obesity effects when tested in vitro or in vivo. Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) berries are a rich source of anthocyanins with concentrations up to 4-fold greater than that of other common fruits. However, there is a paucity of information on how blackcur...

Dyslipidemia and oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL) are recognized as critical factors in the development of atherosclerosis. Healthy dietary patterns, with abundant fruit and vegetable consumption, may prevent the onset of these risk factors due to the presence of phytochemical compounds. Strawberries are known for their high content of polyphenols; among them, flavonoids are the majo...

In the recent years many studies on anthocyanins have revealed their strong antioxidant activity and their possible use as chemotherapeutics. The finding that sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L) (also called tart cherries) contain high levels of anthocyanins that possess strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties has attracted much attention to this species. Here we report the preliminary...

Grape berry development and ripening are under complex regulation by the nutrients, hormones, and environment cues sensed by the berry. However, the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying these types of regulation are poorly understood. A simplified but realistic model system that enables fruit growth conditions to be modulated easily will facilitate the deciphering of these mechanisms...

Glucose induces anthocyanin accumulation in many plant species; however, the molecular mechanism involved in this process remains largely unknown. Here, we found that apple hexokinase MdHXK1, a glucose sensor, was involved in sensing exogenous glucose and regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. In vitro and in vivo assays suggested that MdHXK1 interacted directly with and phosphorylated an anthocy...

Recent studies of anthocyanin formation have involved the use of a varied assortment of plant systems: seedlings, leaves, fruits, petals, callus cultures, and Lemnaceous flowering plants (2,9). Each of these kinds of material possesses certain advantages and certain disadvantages. In the dark-grown buckwheat seedling anthocyanin synthesis can be induced in the hypocotyl by exposure of that orga...

Sweet cherry is a non-climacteric fruit and its ripening is regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) during fruit development. In this study, four cDNAs (PacCYP707A1-4) encoding 8'-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in the oxidative catabolism of ABA, were identified in sweet cherry fruits using tobacco rattle virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and particle bombardment approaches. Quantitative real-time PCR co...

Mature lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruit were heat-treated at 60C for 10 min to study heat-induced pericarp browning. Polyphenol oxidase (EC 1.10.3.2) activity of the pericarp increased immediately, corresponding with rapid anthocyanin degradation, Tissue browning was observed 2 min after heating, with pigmentation distributed uniformly throughout the pericarp. The distribution of brown pig...

abstract this study was carried out in japan for evaluation of the relationship between phenolic compounds and skin color indices of 3 apples cultivars including ‘fuji’, ‘jonathan’ and ‘jonagold’, in 2006. in ‘jonathan’, l* (lightness) increased with decreasing red color of skin. in ‘jonagold’, chroma increased with increasing red color. but in ‘fuji’, there was no detectable difference between...