Effects of Anthocyanins in Composite Meals on Cardiometabolic Outcomes—A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Feeding Trials
What this study found
Overall, co-ingestion of anthocyanins with composite meals had a limited effect on cardiometabolic outcomes. Some postprandial benefits were seen for glucose, insulin, GIP, IL-6, and ORAC, but many outcomes were null and findings were inconsistent. Across included studies, glucose improved in 7 of 15 studies involving 140 of 278 participants, insulin in 5 of 13 studies involving 98 of 269 participants, and GIP in 2 of 3 studies involving 47 of 64 participants. IL-6 improved in 87 of 129 participants across 6 studies, while ox-LDL improved in only 2 of 6 studies. The authors concluded that…
- Study & population
- Systematic review of 18 articles comprising 20 randomized controlled full-feeding trials and 371 adult participants.
- Intervention
- Randomized controlled full-feeding trials evaluated anthocyanin-rich foods, beverages, powders, or capsules co-delivered with composite meals, rather than anthocyanins alone.
- Key limitation
- Evidence was dominated by small, short-term acute feeding trials with heterogeneous anthocyanin sources, food matrices, doses, and outcome measures.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Accumulating epidemiological evidence suggests that anthocyanin intake is associated with reduced risks of cardiometabolic disorders, highlighting the importance of incorporating the phytochemical in our diets. Numerous food-based intervention studies have examined, in controlled meal settings, the role of anthocyanin on cardiometabolic health; but their effects have not been systematically summarized. This study aims to systematically review and summarize the effects of anthocyanin consumption with composite meals on cardiometabolic health from randomized controlled feeding trials. A systematic literature search for relevant human nutritional intervention studies was performed using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, and Scopus databases. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the study quality. Eighteen articles involving 371 participants were included in this review. Consistent improvements from anthocyanin intake were found in glycemic, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) responses. Anthocyanin intake did not significantly affect other markers of energy metabolism, vascular functions, oxidative stress and antioxidant status, as well as inflammatory responses. Inconsistencies in successful outcomes between epidemiological studies and included interventions were largely attributed to matrix effects, which may impede the bioaccessibility of anthocyanins and consequently, limiting its health benefits when co-delivered with some foods.