Pilot study: identification of anthocyanin metabolites in the mice fed purple-fleshed sweetpotato

Abstract

Anthocyanins may prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, however, the anthocyanin metabolites are not well elucidated. We previously selected a purple-fleshed sweet potato clone P40 that contained anthocyanins at up to 7.5 g/kg dry matter, most of which are cyanidin and peonidin derivatives. The main objective of this study is to identify anthocyanin metabolites in the mice fed 20-30% of purple sweet potato P40 (287 mg and 430 mg peonidin-3-glucoside equivalent /kg body weight) diet for 6 weeks. Plasma, liver, and feces were analyzed for anthocyanin metabolites using HPLC/MS and MALDI-TOF-MS. Fifteen hours after consumption of P40 diet, we identified 4 anthocyanin metabolites cyanidin 3,5- diglucoside; cyanidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside; cyanidin3-p-hydroxybenzoylsophroside-5-glucoside; and peonidin 3-p-hydroxybenzoylsophroside-5-glucoside in fecal samples. No anthocyanin metabolites were detected in plasma or liver extracts by HPLC/MS or MALDI-TOF-MS. The results indicate that anthocyanin metabolites in fecal samples might provide health benefits for colonic mucosal cells. However, the lack metabolites in both plasma and liver samples suggest a continuous intake of the anthocyanins may be required for systemic benefits due to their quick degradation and low bioavailability.