Mitochondrial metabolism as a target for human metabolites of dietary anthocyanins

The research is expected to generate evidence that specific anthocyanin metabolites have beneficial effects on mitochondrial metabolism and may protect mitochondria from becoming dysfunctional, for example when exposed to supra-optimal nutrient levels (e.g., during the post-prandial phase or in at-risk groups such as those diagnosed as pre-diabetic or metabolic syndrome). This will be of interest to health professionals including dieticians/clinicians who provide dietary advice to people who are at-risk of developing metabolic disease. The findings will also be of interest to nutraceutical companies who are seeking to develop and market products that target metabolic dysfunction. The identification of specific anthocyanin human metabolites that cause beneficial changes in mitochondrial function / energy metabolism in this project can underpin future R&D to identify the best sources of these metabolites (which may or may not be anthocyanins) and subsequently the development of new nutraceutical products. The data could also be used to develop pre-/pro-/syn-biotics that can increase production of these metabolites in the gut in the longer term this research could be used to underpin changes in dietary advice from policy makers if these invitro observations were backed up by data from properly designed and well controlled human dietary intervention studies.