Absorption and Excretion of Black Currant Anthocyanins in Humans and Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic Rabbits

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 51; no. 9; pp. 2813 - 2820
• Main Authors: Nielsen, Inge Lise F., Dragsted, Lars O., Ravn-Haren, Gitte, Freese, Riitta, Rasmussen, Salka E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 23.04.2003
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Anthocyanins - blood; Anthocyanins - chemistry; Anthocyanins - pharmacokinetics; Anthocyanins - urine; Arteriosclerosis - prevention & control; Beverages; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Disease Models, Animal; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General and cellular metabolism. Vitamins; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia - metabolism; Intestinal Absorption; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nutritive Value; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rabbits; Random Allocation; Ribes - chemistry; Structure-Activity Relationship; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Anthocyanin; Human; Urine; Animal model; WHHL rabbits; Excretion; Fruit; Nutrition; anthocyanins; Black currant; Metabolic diseases; Bioavailability; Antioxidant; Metabolism; Ribes nigrum L; Feeding; Polyphenol; Absorption; Hypercholesterolemia; Plant origin; Pigments; plasma; humans; HPLC
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf025947u

Anthocyanins are thought to protect against cardiovascular diseases. Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits are hypercholesterolemic and used as a model of the development of atherosclerosis. To compare the uptake and excretion of anthocyanins in humans and WHHL rabbits, single-dose black currant anthocyanin studies were performed. Procedures for workup and analyses of urine and plasma samples containing anthocyanins were developed with high recoveries (99 and 81%, respectively) and low limits of quantification (≥6.6 and ≥1.1 nM, respectively). The excretion and absorption of anthocyanins from black currant juice were found to be within the same order of magnitude in the two species regarding urinary excretion within the first 4 h (rabbits, 0.035%; humans, 0.072%) and t max (rabbits, ∼30 min; humans, ∼45 min). A food matrix effect was detected in rabbits, resulting in the absorption of a higher proportion of the anthocyanins from black currant juice than from an aqueous citric acid matrix. In humans the absorption and urinary excretion of anthocyanins from black currant juice were found to be proportional with dose and not influenced by the ingestion of a rice cake. In both species a larger proportion of the anthocyanin rutinosides than of the glucosides was absorbed, whereas the structure of the aglycon had no influence on the absorption and excretion. The anthocyanins had no effect in rabbits on the antioxidant capacity of plasma measured as Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and ferruc reducing ability of plasma. Keywords: WHHL rabbits; humans; anthocyanins; black currant; Ribes nigrum L.; urine; plasma; HPLC