From: "Steve Harris" <sbharris@ix.RETICULATEDOBJECTcom.com> Newsgroups: sci.med.nutrition,sci.med,sci.life-extension Subject: Re: Has cranberry juice helped anyone? Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 16:44:10 -0700 Message-ID: <a8o18o$2ru$1@slb3.atl.mindspring.net> <su-texas@webtv.net> wrote in message news:1363-3CAF50CD-147@storefull-2217.public.lawson.webtv.net... > Anthocyanosides > > one of the main kinds of ingredients in cranberries (bilberries, > blueberries, etc.), that are thought to be helpful, are the > anthocyanosides. > > i read somewhere, that these are condensed tannins. > > -------------- > > Spelling? > > so many long words are misspelled, as i am trying to read more about > this! > > would someone please clarify which spellings are correct? > > anthocyanidins, anthrocyanidins ? > > proanthocyanidins, proanthrocyanidins ? COMMENT There is no "r"-- it's always antho not anthro. Anthro means "human" (anthropology), whereas the chemicals we're talking about are named for being flower pigments. Though they are not ALL flower pigments, so you also occasionally see them called "procyanidins" or even "cyanidins." There are no "proanthocyanins" either (you didn't list these, but somebody might think of it). The anthocyanIDINs ARE, in a sense, the "pro"anthocyanINs (and also much more), so that's the name that is used instead. The "pro" refers to the compounds that are the parents. I'll get you started. These things are all quasi "phenols" (OH attached to an aromatic ring) and that gives them all an antioxidant capability a bit like that of vitamin E. Electrons and sacrificed to some rapacious molecule that wants them, and the quinone form is generated in the phenol. Some of them also chelate iron, and thus inhibit iron's Fenton antioxidant type reactions. They aren't, in general, spin-traps. The condensed "tannin" like forms that you see in bark and grapeseeds are the pro-anthocyanidins, or procyanidins, which are POLY-phenols. The phenols are repeated in chains. These are uncolored and often water soluble. Apparently they can't be absorbed by the gut without being broken up into at least small multimers. Grapeseed extract and pine bark extracts ("Pycnogenol") are two commonly encountered commercial forms. The anthocyanidins (this name with the antho is usually used as the class because there is an explicit "cyanidin" compound) are the monomers, and these are sometimes colored and sometimes not. When they are explicitly colored and are being used by the plant as a fruit or flower pigment (always red, blue, or purple), then the "cyanin" ending is used (cyan is Greek for blue, but as noted these things are also red, and this can vary even with pH, as in blueberries vs. the more acidic cranberries, which are both colored with delphinidin). Again, "anthocyanin" is usually used for the class, because there is a particular compound called cyanin. The pigments are usually much more heavily conjugated with sugars, which assists the dye function (don't ask). The ending "inidin" also identifies a characteristic inner ring structure, and is more of a chemical name, whereas the mere "idin" is more functional, and refers to a dye. "Anthocyanosides" refers explicitly to these same anthocyanidin compounds (the suffix "-oside" referring to the sugar moiety add-ons). Some of the anthocyanidin or anthocyanin names reveal flower origins like delphinidin or petunidin. Also you'll see the specific base compounds cyanidin (red beans), pelargonidin (strawberries) and malvidin (grapes). Most red or blue colored fruits have several of these pigments, and delphinidin and cyanidin are actually probably the most common dietary anthocyanins. Which of these things is good for you? I can't say for sure. Probably most of them, in some mild sense. They all have anticancer properties in various systems, but so what else is new; most antioxidants do. Mild antioxidants probably also keep your arteries clean. The question of what does what in vivo is still being answered. Strawberries and blueberries look good in rodents <g>. It is known that the body can and does absorb the entire sugared forms intact, and excrete them that way, much like other classes of flavonoids. That's kind of funny, and suggests the human body has some use for them all, though perhaps does not absolutely require any of them up to "vitamin" standards. SBH -- I welcome Email from strangers with the minimal cleverness to fix my address (it's an open-book test). I strongly recommend recipients of unsolicited bulk Email ad spam use "http://combat.uxn.com" to get the true corporate name of the last ISP address on the viewsource header, then forward message & headers to "abuse@[offendingISP]." |