Anthocyanins in apples?!!

[nao57]

So I was listening to... some youtube video. It was basically an agriculture Q&A podcast. In that video they mentioned that [red fleshed apples] can and do have anthocyanins in them.

Well first off I won't mention the name of the podcast channel unless given permission because I don't want to be thought of as selling some group etc.

But... here are some of the interesting things I thought of...

1) I had no idea [red fleshed apples] was possible and that there were varieties of this. There are, though some of them have been falling out of favor for a few decades.
1B) while non-red fleshed red apples had been thought to have some anthocyanin amounts, they were thought to have very little if any at all. But this would be completely different with red fleshed apples.
2) They have anthocyanins
3) public school and public eduation are also compromised and catering to special interests. Such that families and real people need to know more about what can be of benefit to them and to help their families, without them having to go (medically) bankrupt in finding solutions and improvements. Higher awareness and sharing of ideas will help combat those problems.
4) Typically anthocyanins are in red and purple fruits & vegetables.

There's a small issue in that I can't tell you how much the anthocyanin amounts are. But if they really are red fleshed then they could have a significant amount.

And the reason for this being interesting is that that people with health problems such as with kidneys, possibly liver issues, and other problems with the blood, or even people just trying to combat aging, would be looking for anthocyanin product foods.

I may post more on this, but just barely found out about this myself. I am curious if I can later find out how much the anthocyanin amount in these red fleshed apples will be like compared to other red and purple fruits, etc.

I am very curious about red fleshed apples.

 

[Meadowlark]

You might find this table of interest:

Fruit	Typical Anthocyanin Range (mg per 100 g fresh weight)	Comparison to Red‑Fleshed Apples
Blackcurrants	130–400 mg	Much higher
Blueberries	25–500 mg (varies widely)	Much higher
Elderberries	450–1,000 mg	Extremely higher
Purple grapes	30–750 mg	Much higher
Cherries	30–200 mg	Higher
Purple sweet potato	100–200 mg	Higher
Red‑fleshed apples	Typically 5–50 mg (varies by cultivar; some may reach higher)	Moderate
White‑fleshed apples	<1 mg	Very low

This is especially interesting to me because I grow/have grown blueberries, purple grapes (Muscadine), and purple sweet potato (Murasaki)

 

[nao57]

You might find this table of interest:

Fruit	Typical Anthocyanin Range (mg per 100 g fresh weight)	Comparison to Red‑Fleshed Apples
Blackcurrants	130–400 mg	Much higher
Blueberries	25–500 mg (varies widely)	Much higher
Elderberries	450–1,000 mg	Extremely higher
Purple grapes	30–750 mg	Much higher
Cherries	30–200 mg	Higher
Purple sweet potato	100–200 mg	Higher
Red‑fleshed apples	Typically 5–50 mg (varies by cultivar; some may reach higher)	Moderate
White‑fleshed apples	<1 mg	Very low

This is especially interesting to me because I grow/have grown blueberries, purple grapes (Muscadine), and purple sweet potato (Murasaki)

Wow. That's awesome. Thank you for posting that. I like this.

I like this because apple trees are easier than berry bushes where I live. I've done berry bushes and the shallow roots mean in heat seasons you get all kinds of trouble keeping them alive. Apple tree is much easier to work with, and more food volume.

 

[Ruderunner]

I've got a feeling this is akin to solanine in green tomatoes and potatoes. Yes, there is a toxin in the edible parts but, you'd have to eat an impossible amount of the edibles to ingest enough toxin to be dangerous.

Much ado about nothing.

 

[roadrunner]

This is exactly why they developed GMO tomatoes that I posted about in the other thread.

GMO Tomatoes Now Available to Home Gardeners

I just heard about this news. Sorry if there was already a thread started, but I couldn't find it. We've always heard not to worry about accidently getting GMO seeds, because they were only sold to farmers with thousands of acres. However, now there seems to be a GMO tomato seed mixed with a...

www.gardening-forums.com

 

[Meadowlark]

I've got a feeling this is akin to solanine in green tomatoes and potatoes.

Much ado about nothing.

I don't get the comp at all. One is beneficial and the other is a toxin

Research(Health Cleveland clinic) shows anthocyanins may:

• Lower blood pressure
• Reduce inflammation
• Protect against heart disease
• Support brain function
• Slow cancer cell growth (lab studies)

The comp:

Feature	Anthocyanins	Solanine
Health impact	Antioxidant, anti‑inflammatory, protective	Toxic, causes GI + neurological symptoms
Safe intake	No established limit; generally safe	Toxic at 2–5 mg/kg; fatal at 3–6 mg/kg
Cooking effect	Stable enough; color changes	Boiling barely reduces levels; microwaving reduces ~15%
Foods	Berries, purple veggies, fruits	Potatoes (esp. green/sprouted), tomato leaves

 

[Ruderunner]

It's not the comparison of toxicity but the amounts. How much fruit would one need to consume in order to get an appreciable intake?

 

[nao57]

It's not the comparison of toxicity but the amounts. How much fruit would one need to consume in order to get an appreciable intake?

I asked the AI and internet that. And it gave me the response below that I've pasted. That being said, I believe but can't prove that consistency daily would be better benefit than uneven interval doses. And I can say that from experience raising waterfowl, and chickens that animals do better with consistency of nutrients.

...

There is no official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) established for anthocyanins by regulatory agencies like the USDA, but clinical research provides clear effective dosage ranges depending on the specific health benefits targeted:

• General Preventive Health & Baseline Bioactivity: ~30 mg to 50 mg per day.
• Targeted Anti-Inflammatory & Antioxidant Support: 80 mg to 160 mg per day. Clinical trials show that doses above 80 mg/day begin to significantly lower systemic oxidative stress markers.
• Cardiovascular, Metabolic & Anti-Inflammatory Interventions: 300 mg to 640 mg per day. Clinical studies evaluating cholesterol reduction, vascular endothelial function, and metabolic health often utilize higher standardized doses (e.g., 160–320 mg taken twice daily).

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

The ai says
Garden huckleberry (Solanum scabrum / Solanum melanocerasum) contains exceptionally high concentrations of anthocyanins, typically ranging between 300 mg and 1,390 mg per 100 grams of fresh berries.

Martin says
Yeah they're purple, look purple, taste purple, grow like peppers. You can use them in scones in place of blueberries. I got a ton of seeds this year I'll send you some if you'd like

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

You might find this table of interest:

Fruit	Typical Anthocyanin Range (mg per 100 g fresh weight)	Comparison to Red‑Fleshed Apples
Blackcurrants	130–400 mg	Much higher
Blueberries	25–500 mg (varies widely)	Much higher
Elderberries	450–1,000 mg	Extremely higher
Purple grapes	30–750 mg	Much higher
Cherries	30–200 mg	Higher
Purple sweet potato	100–200 mg	Higher
Red‑fleshed apples	Typically 5–50 mg (varies by cultivar; some may reach higher)	Moderate
White‑fleshed apples	<1 mg	Very low

This is especially interesting to me because I grow/have grown blueberries, purple grapes (Muscadine), and purple sweet potato (Murasaki)

What's your opinion on the murasaki, I've been eyeballing it, goes off patent next year i think

 

[Meadowlark]

What's your opinion on the murasaki, I've been eyeballing it, goes off patent next year i think

Excellent. My favorite sweet potato. For some reason  I didn't grow it this year but normally do.

I want to try the Okinawa some time, but Murasaki is the go-to for here.

 

[roadrunner]

I asked the AI and internet that. And it gave me the response below that I've pasted. That being said, I believe but can't prove that consistency daily would be better benefit than uneven interval doses. And I can say that from experience raising waterfowl, and chickens that animals do better with consistency of nutrients.

...

There is no official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) established for anthocyanins by regulatory agencies like the USDA, but clinical research provides clear effective dosage ranges depending on the specific health benefits targeted:

• General Preventive Health & Baseline Bioactivity: ~30 mg to 50 mg per day.
• Targeted Anti-Inflammatory & Antioxidant Support: 80 mg to 160 mg per day. Clinical trials show that doses above 80 mg/day begin to significantly lower systemic oxidative stress markers.
• Cardiovascular, Metabolic & Anti-Inflammatory Interventions: 300 mg to 640 mg per day. Clinical studies evaluating cholesterol reduction, vascular endothelial function, and metabolic health often utilize higher standardized doses (e.g., 160–320 mg taken twice daily).

I asked a similar question to a general Google AI program the day this thread was posted. My question was this: "Can one get too much Anthocyanins in one's diet? "

And the answer was as follows

No, you cannot realistically consume too much anthocyanin from whole foods like the GMO purple tomato or berries. [1, 2]
The human body naturally limits the risks of overconsuming anthocyanins from dietary sources due to how it processes them. [1]

Why Whole-Food Anthocyanins are Safe

• Low Bioavailability: Your body has a very low absorption rate for anthocyanins (typically less than 2%). The vast majority passes through your digestive system or is rapidly broken down by gut microbiota and excreted. [1, 2]
• No Upper Limit: Because of this built-in safety, major health organizations (including the FDA and the European Food Safety Authority) have no established upper limit (UL) or maximum daily intake for anthocyanins from food. [1]
• High Tolerance: In animal studies, massive doses (the equivalent of a human eating hundreds of servings of fruit a day) showed zero toxic effects on organs or overall health. Even clinical human trials using concentrated doses up to 640 mg per day reported no adverse side effects. [1, 2]

Where Caution is Needed


While you cannot overdose on purple tomatoes, risk does change if you shift away from whole foods: [1, 2]

• High-Dose Supplements: Extracted, highly concentrated anthocyanin supplements taken in extreme quantities can occasionally cause mild gastrointestinal distress, diarrhea, or temporary digestive discomfort.
  
  
  [1, 2]
• Medication Interactions: In rare cases, ultra-concentrated polyphenol supplements can interfere with how your body absorbs certain prescription medications. [1]

In short, you can eat as many purple GMO tomatoes as your stomach can comfortably handle without any fear of antioxidant toxicity. [1]



If you're planning your diet or garden, would you like to know:

• How many GMO purple tomatoes you'd need to eat to match a handful of blueberries?
• If cooking or heating these tomatoes destroys the anthocyanins?

Disclaimer: I've used AI a bit and I've found that if one changes the question slightly you can get a totally different answer. So when I was preparing to donate my vehicle, which I just did yesterday, I asked AI how to prepare the title and I asked all different types of ways and the AI consistently came back with the same answer, so I was feeling confident.

Luckily, I decided to verify with DMV and they told me a completely opposite procedure, so I had that to consider. I went back to AI and told them what DMV said and AI told me they were wrong. So now I'm totally confused.

I was just hoping the tow truck driver would know the procedures, thinking they do this all the time. And what the driver did was basically what DMV told me to do.

I went back and scolded AI after I transferred the vehicle and all AI said, was it was sorry.


I'm not hating on AI, I think there is a lot of potential there, but it's still very much in its infancy and you gotta be very careful of it.

 

[Meadowlark]

...I'm not hating on AI, I think there is a lot of potential there, but it's still very much in its infancy and you gotta be very careful of it.

Yes, your experience matches mine also. Great potential, but not there yet.

When AI answers a question on plants, it generally also posts the source of the answer. I try to go to that source to verify. That in itself is highly educational.