The role of flavonoids on cognitive performance in older adults has been intensively studied, with the subclass of anthocyanins showing promising outcomes(1). However, there is conflicting evidence in the case of individuals at high risk of developing dementia, namely those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A recent study has suggested that cognitive scores in people with MCI were higher in those who had higher anthocyanin intake (>10 mg)(2). Baseline data from 65 participants of an ongoing clinical trial that had an MIS (Memory Index Score) score ≤ 13 with self-reported subjective memory complaints, (mean age 69.1y ± 6.2) were used to investigate the relationship between dietary anthocyanin intake and indices of mood and cognitive performance. Repeated 24-hour dietary intake was recorded through Intake24 (a computer-based program) for three days (2Xweekday and 1Xweekend day) and anthocyanin intake was quantified using the PhenolExplorer food composition database. The primary outcome of interest was the Buschke and Grober Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test-Immediate Recall (FCSRT+IR) (assesses auditory anterograde memory functioning), while other cognitive functions assessed included: Spot the Word-2 (assessing premorbid estimate); Oral Symbol Digit Test (speed of processing); List Sorting (working memory); Trail Making Test A & B (speed of processing/executive function); and Verbal Fluency (language/semantic memory). Subjective memory complaints were assessed using the Memory Assessment Clinic-Q (MAC-Q) and mood was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Independent t-tests were used to compare differences in cognitive tasks and mood scores between high (>10 mg/d) and low consumers of anthocyanins (<10 mg/d). There was a trend for high anthocyanin consumers (n = 35, median = 44.87 (10.01, 177.83)) to score better on FCSRT-Delayed Free Recall scores (16.57 ± 3.74) compared to lower consumers (n = 30, median = 0.01 (0, 9.51)), (15.97 ± 0.18) with a mean difference (SE) of −1.06 (0.58) (p = 0.06) suggesting recall of 1.06 more words after a 20-30 minute delay. Higher consumers had a lower GDS score (1.77 ± 3.73) compared to lower consumers (3.73 ± 1.77), p = 0.01. Spot the word test scores (assesses premorbid verbal abilities using a robust lexical decision task) were higher for high anthocyanin consumers (53.06 ± 4.38) compared to lower consumers (50.40 ± 4.38), mean difference (SE) = −2.66 (1.10), p = 0.01, meaning participants with higher intake of dietary anthocyanin were able to point at 2.7 more real words than low consumers. Dietary consumption of anthocyanin in older adults with MIS is associated with beneficial effects on depressive scores and the ability to retrieve words. Further research is warranted to identify optimal dosage for recommended intake. This cross-sectional study used baseline data from a randomised controlled trial registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR):12622000065796.

The poor environmental stability of natural anthocyanin hinders its usefulness in various functional applications. The objectives of the present study were to enhance the environmental stability of anthocyanin extracted from Lycium ruthenicum by mixing it with montmorillonite to form an organic/inorganic hybrid pigment, and then to synthesize allochroic biodegradable composite films by incorporating the hybrid pigment into sodium alginate and test them for potential applications in food testing and packaging. The results of X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and use of the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method and zeta potential demonstrated that anthocyanin was both adsorbed on the surface and intercalated into the interlayer of montmorillonite via host–guest interaction, and the hybrid pigments obtained allowed good, reversible, acid/base behavior after exposure to HCl and NH3 atmospheres. The composite films containing hybrid pigments had good mechanical properties due to the uniform dispersion of the pigments in a sodium alginate substrate and the formation of hydrogen bonds between them. Interestingly, the composite films also exhibited reversible acidichromism. The as-prepared hybrid pigments in composite films could, therefore, serve simultaneously as a reinforced material and as a smart coloring agent for a polymer substrate.

It is often stated that organic rice has a higher content of healthy phytochemicals than ordinary rice, and the facts on this claim obtained experimentally are rare. Riceberry is a new rice variety in Thailand. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of organic practice and conventional practice on the content of chemical composition and bioactive compounds in Riceberry rice. The results showed that agricultural practices were not significantly different for grain yield in the first year, but they were different in the second year. Rice produced by organic practice had a higher content of iron, gamma-aminobutyric acid, total phenolic and anthocyanin (4.15, 1.67, 41.3 and 20.1 mg/100 g dry weight in the first year, and 4.06, 3.37, 89.7 and 14.7 mg/100 g dry weight in the second year) than that produced by conventional practice (2.25, 1.11, 38.8 and 6.89 mg/100 g dry in the first year, and 1.96, 2.77, 54.1 and 5.71 mg/100 g dry in the second year). Rice produced by organic practice also had lower sugar content (2.92 g/100 g dry weight in the first year, and 1.99 g/100 g dry weight in the second year) than that produced by conventional practice (3.46 g/100 g dry weight in the first year, and 2.81 g/100 g dry weight in the second year). Gamma oryzanol and antioxidant capacity were also lower in organic rice compared to conventional rice. This study indicated that organic Riceberry rice had a higher quality compared to non-organic rice.

Montmorency tart cherries (MC) have been found to modulate indices of vascular function with interventions of varying duration. The objective of this preliminary study was to identify the chronic effects of MC supplementation on vascular function and the potential for urinary metabolomics to provide mechanistic evidence. We performed a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised study on 23 healthy individuals (18M, 7F) that consumed 30 ml MC or a placebo twice daily for 28 days. Whole body measures of vascular function and spot urine collections were taken at baseline and after supplementation. There were no significant changes to vascular function including blood pressure and arterial stiffness. Urinary metabolite profiling highlighted significant changes (P < 0⋅001) with putative discriminatory metabolites related to tryptophan and histidine metabolism. Overall, MC supplementation for 28 days does not improve indices of vascular function but changes to the urinary metabolome could be suggestive of potential mechanisms.

The effect of different concentrations of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG; 0 (control), 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg/l), an ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor, on grape berry set and fruit quality was evaluated under vineyard conditions. Treatments were performed on ‘Alphonse Lavallée’ grape cultivar at full bloom stage for two years. Cluster and berry growth (length, width and weight), firmness, soluble solids content, yield, berry set, anthocyanin content and colour parameters were determined on treated and untreated (control) fruits. As a result of the study, the effects of AVG concentrations on firmness were not significant. When AVG applications were compared with control, it is determined that some quality properties were statistically affected, the others were not. Fruit set was increased by lower concentrations of AVG (250 mg/l) and anthocyanin content was increased by higher concentrations of AVG (750 mg/l).

Leaf colour characteristics of 730 sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. (Convolvulaceae), plant introduction (PI) accessions from the USDA sweetpotato germplasm collection were evaluated during 2012–2014. Colorimetry data for the abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces were recorded using a tristimulus colorimeter and the CIE 1976 L*a*b* and CIE L*C*h* colour spaces. Most accessions (725 of 730 PIs) had dark-to-medium green leaves, but two PIs had totally purple leaves, and three PIs had yellow or yellow-green (chartreuse) leaves. For mature, field-grown green leaves, values for the red-green coordinate (a*) averaged −12.4 for the adaxial and −10.4 for the abaxial leaf surface. Values for the blue-yellow coordinate (b*) averaged 17.2 for the adaxial and 17.3 for the abaxial leaf surface. Hue angle (h*) for green leaves averaged 120.9° for the adaxial and 126.2° for the abaxial leaf surface. Colour saturation (Chroma, C*) averaged 21.3 for the adaxial and 20.2 for the abaxial leaf surface. Lightness (L*) averaged 35.4 for the adaxial and 47.2 for the abaxial leaf surface of green leaves. Late in the season, over one-half (53.9%) of the 730 PIs showed some level of purple pigmentation in the leaf lamina. Late-season purple leaves were collected and colour coordinates were recorded for 118 PIs grown in the field. For purple leaves, values for a*, b*, C*, L* and h* averaged 2.3, 6.2, 7.9, 28.2 and 64.4° for the adaxial surface and −1.0, 12.7, 13.9, 43.1 and 87.0° for the abaxial leaf surface, respectively.

Four days after treatment of corn (Zea mays L. 'SX111′) seedlings with BAS 9052 OH {2 - [1-(ethoxyimino) butyl] - 5 - [2 - (ethylthio) - propyl] - 3 - hydroxy - 2 - cyclohexene-1 - one} growth was inhibited and a purple color developed in the leaves. Low dosages (0.02 and 0.04 kg/ha) caused bleaching of the newly expanding leaves. Dosages higher than 0.04 kg/ha caused significant reductions in length and fresh and dry weights of both shoots and roots. Anthocyanin and total - sugar content increased, whereas chlorophyll accumulation and respiratory activity were reduced by herbicide treatment. BAS 9052 OH did not alter the mitotic index of corn root tips, but induced binucleate cells by preventing cell-plate and -wall formation. In some cells, the daughter nuclei were reoriented with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cells, and in others, the nuclei failed to migrate to the poles. These physiological and cytological effects of BAS 9052 OH on corn seedlings may be responsible for the phytotoxic action of the herbicide on grasses.

Hydrilla is one of the most serious aquatic weed problems in the United States, and fluridone is the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA)-approved herbicide that provides relatively long-term systemic control. Mature (6-wk-old) and young (freshly planted from 10-cm apical shoot apices) hydrilla were grown in 540 L fiberglass vaults under short- (natural 8 to 10 hr light/14 to 16 hr dark photoperiod) or long- (artificially extended 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod) day greenhouse conditions. Fluridone treatments of 0, 1, 5, and 10 µg L−1 were applied after 2 wk and maintained within each population and photoperiodic regime throughout the study. Short days promoted subterranean turion formation, but this effect was reduced by long days and 5 and 10 µg L−1 fluridone. Fluridone caused a reduction in chlorophyll and carotenoid levels but the effect on anthocyanin content was variable. Short days caused elevated anthocyanin, and this effect was diminished by fluridone. Fluridone reduced the abscisic acid content of mature apical stems and was higher under short days in younger plants. These studies provide further evidence that fluridone can be used as a fall herbicide application to reduce turion production.

Early physiological mechanisms that occur in crop plants in response to neighboring weeds are not well understood. In this experiment, it was hypothesized that, in the absence of direct competition for resources, low red to far red ratio (R:FR) reflected from neighboring weeds will modulate the phenylpropanoid pathway, increase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and up-regulate the expression of ethylene biosynthesis and auxin transport genes. Laboratory experiments were conducted under conditions of nonlimiting resources using perennial ryegrass as a model weed species. We discovered that the detection by phytochrome (Phy) of low R:FR signals reflected from both biological and nonbiological sources triggered an up-regulation of ethylene biosynthesis genes and stimulated an auxin transport gene. The low R:FR also modulated the phenylpropanoid pathway resulting in a reduction in anthocyanin content and an enhancement of lignin synthesis. The presence of neighboring weeds also caused an accumulation of H2O2 in the first leaf and crown root tissues of the maize seedling. Stomata were observed to be closed as H2O2 accumulated in leaf tissue. This is the first study to report the modulation of phenylpropanoid pathway and the accumulation of H2O2 attributed to low R:FR. We further suggest that these physiological changes that occur in response to early weed competition result in a physiological cost to the crop plant, which contributes to the rapid loss in yield observed in weed competition studies conducted under field conditions.

Many woody species in humid tropical forests synchronously flush entire canopies of young red leaves. Numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to explain the adaptive value of this visually striking phenomenon. In the humid tropics, fungal attack is a potentially important source of mortality for expanding young leaves. We propose that the anthocyanins responsible for the red coloration of young leaves may play a protective role against invasions by leaf-attacking fungal pathogens.

Fungus-growing leaf cutting ants (Atta columbica Guerin) were used in choice tests because they are known to select against leaves or chemicals containing fungicidal properties. In feeding trials with leaf discs from 20 common species, ant preference decreased significantly with increasing anthocyanin content. In feeding trials with pure anthocyanin (3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavylium chloride) presented on oat flakes, ants again showed a significant dosage dependent preference. This suggests that even low concentrations of anthocyanins may be harmful to the fungal colonies of ants. Additional work on the effects of anthocyanin on leafattacking fungi is encouraged.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) synthesizes a complex mixture of 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins in response to inoculation with the non-pathogenic fungus Bipolaris maydis. The anthocyanin cyanidin 3-dimalonyl glucoside, is also synthesized naturally in response to light. To determine the order and time of appearance of these compounds, etiolated sorghum mesocotyls were inoculated with B. maydis and tissue extracts were analysed by photodiode array-HPLC every 2 h for the first 24 h and at 48 h post inoculation (hpi). Uninoculated and inoculated etiolated mesocotyls were also allowed to incorporate L-[U-14C] phenylalanine. Apigeninidin appeared at 10 hpi, followed by luteolinidin and apigeninidin 5-O-arabinoside at 14 hpi. Luteolinidin 5-methylether was not detected until 18 hpi and apigeninidin 7-methylether not until 20 hpi. The concentrations of the primary phytoalexins, apigeninidin, luteolinidin and apigeninidin 5-O-arabinoside, rose steadily between 12 and 24 hpi, and the levels of apigeninidin and luteolinidin were approximately equivalent by 24 hpi. However, between 24 and 48 hpi luteolinidin and luteolinidin 5-methylether accumulated rapidly so that by 48 hpi the amounts of luteolinidin and luteolinidin 5-methylether had increased approximately twofold. Radiolabelling also showed that 14C was incorporated into the 3-deoxyanthocyanidins and cyanidin 3-dimalonyl glucoside. Several other unidentified phenolic compounds also accumulated radioactivity.