Anthocyanins retrochalcones

The recent discovery that Z-retrochalcones (natural anthocyanin retrochalcones) encapsulate iron (III) points out that they can play a nutritional role. Owing to this property, anthocyanins may take part in the uptake and regulation of this vital metal in the human body. If it is the case, it would be wise to consume red fruits (edible berries) with good amounts of structurally simple glycosylated anthocyanins whose Z-chalcones are perfectly sized for complexing iron (III). 

Fig. 1.3 Anthocyanin equilibria in aqueous solution and the corresponding structural transformations. AH2 represents the flavylium cation that predominates at acidic pH values AH represents the two tautomeric quinonoid bases A depicts the anionic quinonoid bases that appears in alkaline solutions BH2 is the colorless hemiketal adduct and and are isomeric retrochalcones.

---