Red and Purple Anthocyanins, Pale Yellow Anthoxanthins

Anthocyanins (from the Greek for “blue flower”) are responsible for most of the red, purple, and blue colors in plants, including many berries, apples, cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. A related group, the anthoxanthins (“yellow flower”) are pale yellow compounds found in potatoes, onions, and cauliflower. This third major class of plant pigments is a subgroup of the huge phenolic family, which is based on rings of 6 carbon atoms with two-thirds of a water molecule (OH) attached to some of them, which makes phenolics soluble in water. The anthocyanins have 3 rings. There are about 300 known anthocyanins, and a given fruit or vegetable will usually contain a mixture of a dozen or more. Like many other phenolic compounds, they are valuable antioxidants.