Anthocyanin excretion by humans increases linearly with increasing strawberry dose.

A clinical study was conducted to investigate the dose response and metabolism of strawberry anthocyanins. In a crossover study design, 12 healthy adults consumed each of 3 strawberry treatments. The treatments were 100 g, 200 g, and 400 g of pureed strawberries, delivering 15 micromol, 30 micromol, and 60 micromol anthocyanin, respectively. Urine samples were collected for 24 h after each dose and samples were analyzed by HPLC with diode array detection and ion trap MS. Pelargonidin 3-glucoside was the major anthocyanin form in the treatments, and pelargonidin 3-glucoside and 3 metabolites of pelargonidin 3-glucoside (detected as monoglucuronides) were excreted in urine after ingestion. One predominant monoglucuronide form was detected in urine in masses 10-fold higher than the other 2 monoglucuronide forms. Increasing dose resulted in increasing appearance of anthocyanins in urine, and the mass of each pelargonidin monoglucuronide increased in urine with increasing dose. These results suggest that pelargonidin 3-glucoside absorption and metabolism are not saturated at masses < or = 60 micromol, thus showing that more strawberry anthocyanin can be absorbed with increasing dose.