Anthocyanins are the red, purple and blue pigments in berries, black currants, aronia, blood oranges and red cabbage. They are sold as purified extracts and in berry extracts.
Also known as: anthocyanin, anthocyanidins, cyanidin-3-glucoside, berry pigments.
Trials used a wide range of extracts and foods. In one meta-analysis, cholesterol changes were seen only above 300 mg a day for more than 12 weeks (Daneshzad 2019). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: a 2019 meta-analysis of 19 trials found no effect on weight, waist size or blood pressure, no clear effect on HbA1c or fasting blood sugar, a small drop in insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and lower total and LDL cholesterol only with more than 300 mg a day for more than 12 weeks (Daneshzad 2019). A 2016 meta-analysis of 6 trials (472 people) found no effect on blood pressure (Zhu 2016). A 2026 meta-analysis of 59 trials found better scores on overall thinking and several memory and attention tests with anthocyanin-rich products than with controls, and called for better trials (Micek 2026).
Safety: the meta-analyses above do not report safety problems, but they pooled many different extracts and foods. The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for anthocyanins that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. "Anthocyanins" covers many related pigments, each absorbed and broken down differently.
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