Anthocyanins in Dark Colored Fruits May Fight Colon Cancer

Anthocyanins, the compounds responsible for the rich dark colors of grapes, radishes, purple carrots and bilberries have been reported to significantly slow the growth of colon cancer cells by 50 to 80% in studies on laboratory models of human colon cancer cells. According to the article (emphasis mine):

• Pigments from purple corn and chokeberries (almost black berries from shurbs native to North America) not only stopped the growth of cancer cells, but also killed roughly 20 per cent of the cancer cells while having little effect on healthy cells.
• Extract derived from purple corn was the most potent, in that it took the least amount of this extract (14 micrograms per millilitre of cell growth solution) to cut cell numbers in half.
• Chokeberry and bilberry extracts were nearly as potent.
• Radish extract proved the least potent, as it took nine times as much to cut cell growth by 50 per cent.

Is one fruit or vegetable then better than the other? A caveat from the study author:

“There are more than 600 different anthocyanins found in nature,” she said.

“While we know that the concentration of anthocyanins in the gastrointestinal tract is ultimately affected by their chemical structures, we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of understanding how the body absorbs and uses these different structures.”

In other words, it is still yet unknown how the anthocyanins from these foods fare in the human body.