Anthocyanin absorption and antioxidant status in pigs

Area of Science:

• Animal Nutrition
• Nutraceuticals
• Pharmacokinetics

Background:

• Anthocyanins are potent antioxidants found in various fruits and vegetables.
• Understanding their absorption and bioavailability is crucial for their application in functional foods.
• Dietary factors can significantly influence the absorption and efficacy of bioactive compounds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of simultaneous food or flavonoid intake on anthocyanin absorption and antioxidant status in pigs.
• To determine how different dietary matrices affect the pharmacokinetic profile of anthocyanins.
• To assess the relationship between anthocyanin absorption and changes in plasma antioxidant capacity.

Main Methods:

• Twelve male pigs were cannulated and received blackcurrant powder (BC) with different dietary treatments (water/sugar, cereal/milk/sugar, or cereal/milk/sugar/rutin).
• Anthocyanin content in diets and plasma was quantified using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode Array detection (HPLC-PDA).
• Antioxidant capacity was measured using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), and non-protein ORAC assays.

Main Results:

• The total absorbed amount of anthocyanins did not differ significantly across diets.
• However, the rate of anthocyanin absorption and subsequent decline was slower when co-administered with food or additional flavonoids (Diets B and C) compared to water/sugar (Diet A).
• All diets increased antioxidant capacity (FRAP assay) starting 4 hours post-ingestion, when plasma anthocyanin levels were back to baseline, suggesting a role for metabolites.

Conclusions:

• Simultaneous intake of food or other flavonoids delays the absorption profile of anthocyanins.
• The observed increase in antioxidant capacity is likely attributable to metabolites derived from anthocyanin consumption rather than the parent compounds.
• These findings have implications for optimizing the delivery and efficacy of anthocyanin-based supplements and functional foods.