Impact of dietary anthocyanins on systemic and vascular inflammation: Systematic review and meta-analysis on randomised clinical trials

Abstract Anthocyanins are natural bioactive compounds that have several health benefits. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the impact of dietary anthocyanins on markers of systemic and vascular inflammation. Meta-analysis of 32 randomised controlled trials indicated that dietary anthocyanins significantly decreased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP; −0.33 mg/l, 95% CI: −0.55 to −0.11, P = 0.003), interleukin-6 (IL-6; −0.41 ρg/ml, 95% CI: −0.70 to −0.13, P = 0.004), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α; −0.64 ρg/ml, 95% CI: −1.18 to −0.09, P = 0.023), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (−52.4 ng/ml, 95% CI: −85.7 to −19.1, P = 0.002), and vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1; −49.6 ng/ml, 95% CI: −72.7 to −26.5, P  300 mg/day) significantly decreased levels of CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, and VCAM-1. The results indicate that dietary anthocyanins reduce the levels of systemic and vascular inflammation in the subjects.