Structural requirements of anthocyanins in relation to inhibition of endothelial injury induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein and correlation with radical scavenging activity

Anthocyanins may play an important role in atherosclerosis prevention. However, the structure–function relationships are not well understood. The objective of this study was to compare the inhibitory effect of 21 anthocyanins against oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced endothelial injury to understand the relationship between anthocyanin chemical structure and the endothelial protective properties, measured as cell viability, MDA production and NO release. Additionally, the intracellular anti-radical activity of the selected anthocyanins was investigated to identify the correlation with endothelial protection. Our results provide evidence that the number of –OH in total or in B-ring, 3′,4′-ortho-dihydroxyl and 3-hydroxyl are the main structural requirements of anthocyanins in suppressing oxidative stress-induced endothelial injury and such inhibitory effect was significantly correlated with the intracellular radical scavenging activity.