Home Ingredients Pelargonidin

Pelargonidin

Evidence Level
Preliminary
8 Clinical Trials
5 Documented Benefits
1/5 Evidence Score

Pelargonidin is an anthocyanidin, the red-orange plant pigment that colors strawberries, where it occurs mainly as pelargonidin-3-glucoside. It is rarely sold on its own, and no published human trial of isolated pelargonidin was found, so this page lists no supplement category. The human studies cited here gave people whole strawberries, usually as freeze-dried powder in a drink, which also supplies vitamin C, fiber and other compounds; those trial results belong to the fruit, which has its own Strawberry page. Absorption studies show that only about 1 to 2 percent of the pelargonidin-3-glucoside eaten in strawberries is recovered in urine, mostly as glucuronide conjugates. Cell and animal studies explore antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and clotting effects of the pure compound, but these effects have not been tested in people.

Studied Dose No dose of isolated pelargonidin has been studied in people. Strawberry trials used 10 to 50 g a day of freeze-dried strawberry powder (50 g is about 3 cups fresh in one trial); absorption studies used 200 g of fresh strawberries supplying 179 to 222 micromol of pelargonidin-3-glucoside.
Active Compound Pelargonidin (3,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxyflavylium), an anthocyanidin; in strawberries it occurs mainly as the glycoside pelargonidin-3-glucoside.

Benefits

Absorption and metabolites of pelargonidin from strawberries

After 200 g of strawberries, the main form in blood was a pelargonidin glucuronide, peaking about an hour after eating, and only about 1 to 2 percent of the pelargonidin-3-glucoside eaten was recovered in urine, mostly as glucuronides. Eating the berries with cream delayed the peak but did not lower it.

Supported by Trial 1

Blood lipids in whole-strawberry trials

These trials gave whole strawberry powder, not isolated pelargonidin. In adults with metabolic syndrome, 50 g a day for 8 weeks lowered total and LDL cholesterol versus a water control, and a placebo-controlled meal study found lower after-meal triglycerides and oxidized LDL. In adults with raised LDL, 4 weeks did not change fasting LDL versus a matched control.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 6

Blood pressure and artery widening in whole-strawberry trials

In a placebo-controlled crossover in healthy older adults, 8 weeks of 26 g a day of freeze-dried strawberry reduced systolic blood pressure. In adults with raised LDL, fasting blood pressure and artery widening did not differ from control after 4 weeks, though widening was higher 1 hour after a strawberry drink. A trial in metabolic syndrome saw no blood pressure change.

Supported by Trial 6, Trial 2

After-meal inflammation markers and insulin in strawberry studies

In overweight adults, a strawberry drink with a high-carbohydrate meal raised blood pelargonidin-3-glucoside and lowered the after-meal rise in hsCRP, IL-6 and insulin versus a placebo drink; glucose did not differ. Taking the drink 2 hours before a meal gave lower after-meal glucose than taking it with the meal. Longer studies found no change in CRP.

Supported by Trial 4, Trial 5

Blood antioxidant markers after strawberry intake

In a placebo-controlled crossover in older adults, total antioxidant capacity rose during the strawberry phase and fell during the control phase. Uncontrolled two- to four-week studies reported higher plasma antioxidant capacity and lower lipid peroxidation markers after daily strawberries. None of these studies tested pelargonidin on its own.

Supported by Trial 7, Trial 4

Mechanism of action

1

Glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in blood and urine

In people who ate strawberries, pelargonidin-3-glucoside appeared in blood and urine mainly as pelargonidin glucuronides, with smaller amounts of a sulfate conjugate, the glucoside and free pelargonidin. These conjugates, rather than the parent pigment, are what tissues are exposed to after eating the fruit.

2

Nrf2 antioxidant defenses in liver cells (laboratory)

In HepG2 liver cells, pretreatment with pelargonidin chloride reduced toxin-induced reactive oxygen species and cell death, raised the activity of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes such as heme oxygenase 1 and superoxide dismutase, and moved Nrf2 into the nucleus. This is cell work only.

3

Plasma metabolites and immune cell cytokines (laboratory)

In monocyte cultures, protocatechuic acid, which the authors list as a plasma metabolite of pelargonidin-3-glucoside, lowered IL-6, while pelargonidin-3-glucoside and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid had no effect. The authors describe the effects as modest and preliminary; they have not been shown to explain any human result.

4

NF-κB and COX-2 in endothelial cells (laboratory)

In human endothelial cells exposed to the pollutant acrolein, pelargonidin blocked NF-κB activation and COX-2 and lowered PGE2, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha. These are cell results with the pure compound; they have not been shown to explain the results of the strawberry trials.

5

Clotting and platelet activity (laboratory and mouse)

Pure pelargonidin, but not pelargonidin-3-glucoside, lengthened clotting times, inhibited thrombin, factor Xa and platelet aggregation in laboratory tests, and had anticoagulant effects in mice. Whether amounts reached in people do the same has not been studied.

Clinical trials

1
Absorption of Pelargonidin-3-Glucoside From 200 g of Strawberries, With and Without Cream
PubMed

Human absorption study with plasma and urine collected for 24 hours after eating strawberries alone or with cream; no health outcome was measured. (Mullen et al. 2008, J Agric Food Chem)

Healthy volunteers who ate 200 g of strawberries containing 222 micromol of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside.

The main metabolite in blood, a pelargonidin-O-glucuronide, peaked at 274 nmol/L about 1.1 hours after strawberries alone. Cream delayed the peak to about 2.4 hours but did not change its height. Anthocyanin metabolites in urine came to about 1 percent of the amount eaten.

2
Freeze-Dried Strawberry Drink in Metabolic Syndrome: 8-Week RCT vs Water (n=27)
PubMed

Randomized controlled trial of 4 cups a day of a drink made from 50 g of freeze-dried strawberries (about 3 cups fresh) versus the same volume of water, which was not matched for calories or fiber; the California Strawberry Commission donated the powder and the work was supported in part by an NIH-funded General Clinical Research Center grant at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and by Oklahoma State University. (Basu et al. 2010, Nutr Res)

27 adults with metabolic syndrome (25 women, 2 men; mean age 47, mean BMI 37.5).

Versus control at 8 weeks, total cholesterol fell from 5.8 to 5.2 mmol/L and LDL cholesterol from 3.5 to 3.1 mmol/L, and small LDL particles and the adhesion molecule VCAM-1 also fell (all P < .05). Glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure and waist circumference did not change.

3
Strawberry Drink vs Matched Placebo With High-Fat Meals: 12-Week Crossover (n=24)
PubMed

Randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover: a drink with 10 g of freeze-dried strawberry or a placebo drink matched for energy and macronutrients, 6 weeks each, with high-fat meal challenges before randomization and at crossover; the abstract does not state the funding source. (Burton-Freeman et al. 2010, J Am Coll Nutr)

24 adults with raised blood lipids (14 women, 10 men; mean age 51).

After the high-fat meal, triglycerides and oxidized LDL were lower with the strawberry drink than with placebo. After 6 weeks, after-meal lipid levels were lower with strawberry, with a sex by treatment interaction for oxidized LDL.

4
Strawberry Drink With a High-Carbohydrate Meal: Placebo-Controlled Crossover (n=24)
PubMed

Randomized crossover meal study: a high-carbohydrate, moderate-fat meal with a milk-based drink containing 10 g of freeze-dried strawberry (about 100 g fresh) or a placebo drink matched for flavor, energy and nutrients, with blood followed for 6 hours; funded by a California Strawberry Commission grant. (Edirisinghe et al. 2011, Br J Nutr)

24 overweight adults (10 men, 14 women) analyzed; 26 recruited.

Plasma pelargonidin-3-glucoside and pelargonidin sulfate rose with strawberry (P < 0.001). The after-meal rise in high-sensitivity CRP and IL-6 and the insulin response were lower with strawberry than placebo (P < 0.05). Glucose, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and PAI-1 did not differ between drinks.

5
Timing of a Strawberry Drink Around a Meal: 3-Arm Single-Blind Crossover (n=14)
PubMed

Single-blind crossover in which a strawberry drink was given 2 hours before, with, or 2 hours after a standard meal, with control drinks at the other times; secondary comparisons were with a separate matched reference group that had only control drinks; PubMed lists an FDA grant. (Huang et al. 2016, Food Funct)

14 overweight healthy adults.

After-meal glucose was lower when the drink came before the meal than with it (p < 0.05). Versus the reference group, the before-meal and after-meal drinks lowered after-meal glucose without extra insulin, and IL-6 was lower with the before-meal drink (p = 0.048).

6
Strawberry vs Matched Control in Adults With Raised LDL: 4-Week Crossover (n=34)
PubMed

Randomized, controlled, double-blind crossover of drinks with 2 x 25 g/day of freeze-dried strawberry or an energy- and volume-matched control powder, 4 weeks each with a 4-week washout; fasting LDL cholesterol was the primary outcome; the registry (NCT02612090) lists the Clinical Nutrition Research Center of the Illinois Institute of Technology as sponsor. (Huang et al. 2021, J Nutr)

34 adults with moderately raised LDL cholesterol (half men, half women; mean age 53, mean BMI 31).

Fasting LDL cholesterol, the primary outcome, did not differ after 4 weeks, and neither did total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, hsCRP, flow-mediated dilation or blood pressure. In acute tests, flow-mediated dilation was 1.5% higher 1 hour after a 50 g strawberry drink than after control, and systolic pressure was 3.1 mmHg lower at 2 hours.

7
Freeze-Dried Strawberry vs Control Powder in Older Adults: 8-Week Crossover (n=35)
PubMed

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover of 26 g/day of freeze-dried strawberry (about 2 cups fresh) or a control powder, 8 weeks each with a 4-week washout; the registry (NCT04786665) lists San Diego State University as sponsor and the authors declare no conflicts of interest. (Delaney et al. 2025, Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis)

35 healthy older adults (17 women, 18 men; mean age 72, mean BMI 26.4).

Strawberry lowered systolic blood pressure (p = 0.044) and improved processing speed (p < 0.001), while episodic memory improved during the control phase instead. Total antioxidant capacity rose during the strawberry phase and fell during the control phase, and triglycerides rose during control but not with strawberry.

8
Freeze-Dried Strawberry Powder in Women With Metabolic Syndrome: 4-Week Single-Arm Study (n=16)
PubMed

Single-arm before and after study with no placebo or control group, two cups a day of a drink with 25 g of freeze-dried strawberry powder in each. (Basu et al. 2009, Nutr J)

16 women with at least 3 features of metabolic syndrome.

Compared with baseline, total cholesterol was 5% lower, LDL cholesterol 6% lower and malondialdehyde plus hydroxynonenal 14% lower at 4 weeks; oxidized LDL showed only a trend (p = 0.123). CRP and adiponectin did not change. Without a control group these are within-group changes.

Side effects and drug interactions

Common Potential side effects

No human study has given isolated pelargonidin, so the side effects of purified pelargonidin products are unknown. The human studies cited here used whole strawberries or strawberry powder for single meals up to 8 weeks.
Strawberry allergy: strawberry contains IgE-binding proteins (a Bet v 1 homologue, profilin and lipid transfer protein), although few strawberry reactions are reported compared with other rose-family fruits. People who react to strawberries should avoid strawberry-based sources.
Bleeding: in laboratory and mouse studies, pure pelargonidin lengthened clotting times and inhibited platelet aggregation; the effect in people is unknown.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: no study cited here tested purified pelargonidin in pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Important Drug interactions

No study cited here tested pelargonidin together with medicines, so interactions are unknown.
Anticoagulant and antiplatelet medicines: pure pelargonidin lengthened clotting times and inhibited platelet aggregation in laboratory and mouse studies, so an added effect with blood thinners is theoretically possible; ask a clinician before combining concentrated products.
Drugs handled by CYP1A1 or CYP1A2: in human liver cells pelargonidin raised CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 expression, and it inhibited CYP1A1 activity in liver microsomes; whether this matters in people has not been tested.

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Frequently asked questions about Pelargonidin

What is Pelargonidin used for?

Pelargonidin is the red-orange anthocyanidin pigment of strawberries, where it occurs mainly as pelargonidin-3-glucoside. It is rarely sold on its own and has not been tested by itself in a human trial. The human studies cited here gave whole strawberry powder and looked at blood lipids, blood pressure, after-meal markers and antioxidant markers, with results that varied between trials.

Has pelargonidin been tested on its own in people?

No published human trial of isolated pelargonidin was found. People have eaten strawberries in absorption studies, which show that only about 1 to 2 percent of the pelargonidin-3-glucoside eaten is recovered in urine, mostly as glucuronides. Effects of the pure compound come from cell and animal work and diet questionnaires.

What is the recommended dosage of Pelargonidin?

There is no established dose of isolated pelargonidin. Strawberry trials used 10 to 50 g a day of freeze-dried strawberry powder; one trial equated 50 g to about 3 cups of fresh berries. Absorption studies used 200 g of fresh strawberries.

Is Pelargonidin safe, and does it have side effects?

The safety of purified pelargonidin has not been studied in people. Strawberries can cause allergic reactions in sensitive people. In laboratory and mouse work the pure compound lengthened clotting times and reduced platelet clumping, so people on blood thinners should ask a clinician before using a concentrated product.

What is Pelargonidin?

Pelargonidin is an anthocyanidin, the red-orange plant pigment that colors strawberries, where it occurs mainly as pelargonidin-3-glucoside. It is rarely sold on its own, and no published human trial of isolated pelargonidin was found, so this page lists no supplement category.

Does Pelargonidin interact with any medications?

Possible interactions include: No study cited here tested pelargonidin together with medicines, so interactions are unknown. Anticoagulant and antiplatelet medicines: pure pelargonidin lengthened clotting times and inhibited platelet aggregation in laboratory and mouse studies, so an added effect with blood th… If you take prescription medication, check with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

How strong is the scientific evidence for Pelargonidin?

NutraSmarts rates the evidence for Pelargonidin as Preliminary (1 out of 5). It is backed by 8 study summaries and 18 cited references summarized on this page. A higher rating reflects more, larger, and better-designed human studies.

References(18 citations)

Evidence ratings on NutraSmarts are based on the totality of human clinical research, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. The references below directly support claims made throughout this page.

  1. Mullen W, Edwards CA, Serafini M, Crozier A. Bioavailability of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and its metabolites in humans following the ingestion of strawberries with and without cream. J Agric Food Chem. 2008;56(3):713-9. doi: 10.1021/jf072000p.PubMedUsed to support: Human absorption study: volunteers ate 200 g of strawberries containing 222 micromol of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside with and without cream. The main circulating metabolite, a pelargonidin-O-glucuronide, peaked at 274 nmol/L about 1.1 hours after strawberries alone; cream delayed the peak to about 2.4 hours without changing its height. Urinary anthocyanin metabolites came to about 1 percent of intake.
  2. Felgines C, Talavéra S, Gonthier MP, Texier O, Scalbert A, Lamaison JL, Rémésy C. Strawberry anthocyanins are recovered in urine as glucuro- and sulfoconjugates in humans. J Nutr. 2003;133(5):1296-301. doi: 10.1093/jn/133.5.1296.PubMedUsed to support: Human absorption study in 6 healthy volunteers who ate a meal with 200 g of strawberries (179 micromol of pelargonidin-3-glucoside). Urine contained pelargonidin-3-glucoside, three pelargonidin monoglucuronides, a sulfoconjugate and pelargonidin itself; total urinary excretion was 1.80 percent of the pelargonidin-3-glucoside eaten, more than 80 percent of it as one monoglucuronide.
  3. Basu A, Wilkinson M, Penugonda K, Simmons B, Betts NM, Lyons TJ. Freeze-dried strawberry powder improves lipid profile and lipid peroxidation in women with metabolic syndrome: baseline and post intervention effects. Nutr J. 2009;8:43. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-8-43.PubMedUsed to support: Single-arm study with no control group: 16 women with features of metabolic syndrome drank two cups a day of a drink made with 25 g of freeze-dried strawberry powder each for 4 weeks. Total and LDL cholesterol were 5 and 6 percent lower and malondialdehyde plus hydroxynonenal 14 percent lower than at baseline; there was no effect on CRP or adiponectin. Whole strawberry, not isolated pelargonidin.
  4. Basu A, Fu DX, Wilkinson M, Simmons B, Wu M, Betts NM, Du M, Lyons TJ. Strawberries decrease atherosclerotic markers in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Nutr Res. 2010;30(7):462-9. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2010.06.016.PubMedUsed to support: Randomized controlled trial in 27 adults with metabolic syndrome: 50 g/day of freeze-dried strawberry in a drink for 8 weeks versus water lowered total and LDL cholesterol, small LDL particles and VCAM-1 versus control. Glucose, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure and waist did not change. The full text reports the powder was donated by the California Strawberry Commission, was about 10% of fresh weight, and that 50 g supplied 109 mg vitamin C and 154 mg total anthocyanins.
  5. Burton-Freeman B, Linares A, Hyson D, Kappagoda T. Strawberry modulates LDL oxidation and postprandial lipemia in response to high-fat meal in overweight hyperlipidemic men and women. J Am Coll Nutr. 2010;29(1):46-54. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2010.10719816.PubMedUsed to support: Randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week crossover in 24 adults with raised blood lipids (14 women, 10 men): a drink with 10 g of freeze-dried strawberry or an energy- and macronutrient-matched placebo drink for 6 weeks each, with high-fat meal challenges. After the meal, triglycerides and oxidized LDL were lower with strawberry than placebo. The abstract does not state the funding source.
  6. Edirisinghe I, Banaszewski K, Cappozzo J, Sandhya K, Ellis CL, Tadapaneni R, Kappagoda CT, Burton-Freeman BM. Strawberry anthocyanin and its association with postprandial inflammation and insulin. Br J Nutr. 2011;106(6):913-22. doi: 10.1017/S0007114511001176.PubMedUsed to support: Randomized crossover in 24 overweight adults: a drink with 10 g of freeze-dried strawberry taken with a high-carbohydrate, moderate-fat meal raised plasma pelargonidin-3-glucoside and pelargonidin sulfate and lowered the after-meal hsCRP, IL-6 and insulin responses versus a matched placebo drink. Glucose, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and PAI-1 did not differ. Funded by a California Strawberry Commission grant, which the full text states; the Commission also supplied the powder.
  7. Huang Y, Park E, Edirisinghe I, Burton-Freeman BM. Maximizing the health effects of strawberry anthocyanins: understanding the influence of the consumption timing variable. Food Funct. 2016;7(12):4745-4752. doi: 10.1039/c6fo00995f.PubMedUsed to support: Three-arm, single-blind crossover in 14 overweight healthy adults given a strawberry drink 2 hours before, with, or 2 hours after a standard meal, with control drinks at the other times. After-meal glucose was lower when the drink came before the meal than with it. Versus a separate matched reference group that had only control drinks, glucose was lower without extra insulin and IL-6 was lower with the before-meal drink. PubMed lists an FDA grant.
  8. Huang L, Xiao D, Zhang X, Sandhu AK, Chandra P, Kay C, Edirisinghe I, Burton-Freeman B. Strawberry Consumption, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, and Vascular Function: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Adults with Moderate Hypercholesterolemia. J Nutr. 2021;151(6):1517-1526. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab034.PubMedUsed to support: Randomized, double-blind crossover in 34 adults with moderately raised LDL cholesterol: 2 x 25 g/day of freeze-dried strawberry for 4 weeks did not change fasting LDL (the primary outcome), total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, hsCRP, flow-mediated dilation or blood pressure versus a matched control. Acutely, flow-mediated dilation was higher 1 hour after strawberry and systolic pressure lower at 2 hours, and one phenolic metabolite correlated with the dilation change. The registry (NCT02612090) lists the Clinical Nutrition Research Center of the Illinois Institute of Technology as sponsor.
  9. Delaney K, Tsang M, Kern M, Rayo VU, Jason N, Hong MY, Liu C, Hooshmand S. Strawberries modestly improve cognition and cardiovascular health in older adults. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2025;35(8):104018. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2025.104018.PubMedUsed to support: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover in 35 healthy older adults: 26 g/day of freeze-dried strawberry for 8 weeks improved processing speed and lowered systolic blood pressure, and antioxidant capacity rose on strawberry and fell on control; episodic memory improved during the control phase. The trial registry (NCT04786665) lists San Diego State University as sponsor, and the authors declare no conflicts of interest.
  10. Tulipani S, Armeni T, Giampieri F, Alvarez-Suarez JM, Gonzalez-Paramás AM, Santos-Buelga C, Busco F, Principato G, Bompadre S, Quiles JL, Mezzetti B, Battino M. Strawberry intake increases blood fluid, erythrocyte and mononuclear cell defenses against oxidative challenge. Food Chem. 2014;156:87-93. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.01.098.PubMedUsed to support: Uncontrolled human study in apparently healthy volunteers: after 2 weeks of daily strawberries, fasting plasma antioxidant capacity and vitamin C rose moderately, the lag phase before plasma lipid oxidation lengthened, red cells resisted oxidative hemolysis better and mononuclear cells survived an ex vivo oxidative challenge better; red cell membrane lipid peroxidation did not change and DNA oxidative damage results were conflicting.
  11. Agarwal P, Holland TM, Wang Y, Bennett DA, Morris MC. Association of Strawberries and Anthocyanidin Intake with Alzheimer's Dementia Risk. Nutrients. 2019;11(12):3060. doi: 10.3390/nu11123060.PubMedUsed to support: Prospective cohort of 925 older adults followed a mean of 6.7 years, with 245 incident dementia cases: higher strawberry intake (HR 0.76) and the highest versus lowest quartile of questionnaire-estimated pelargonidin intake (HR 0.63) were associated with lower risk. Observational diet questionnaire data that cannot show cause and effect; no supplement was given.
  12. Agarwal P, Holland TM, James BD, Cherian LJ, Aggarwal NT, Leurgans SE, Bennett DA, Schneider JA. Pelargonidin and Berry Intake Association with Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology: A Community-Based Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022;88(2):653-661. doi: 10.3233/JAD-215600.PubMedUsed to support: Observational study of 575 deceased participants comparing food questionnaires filled in during life with brain tissue examined after death: the highest quartile of pelargonidin intake had less amyloid-beta load (p = 0.038) and a borderline difference in phosphorylated tau tangles (p = 0.051) versus the lowest. Total berry intake was not associated with the pathology. Cannot show cause and effect.
  13. Amini AM, Spencer JPE, Yaqoob P. Effects of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and its metabolites on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cytokine production by THP-1 monocytes and macrophages. Cytokine. 2018;103:29-33. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2017.12.031.PubMedUsed to support: Cell culture study (laboratory only) of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and three of its plasma metabolites, protocatechuic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and phloroglucinaldehyde. Protocatechuic acid lowered IL-6 in monocytes, phloroglucinaldehyde did so only at a concentration the authors call supraphysiological, and pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid had no effect. The authors call the effects modest and the data preliminary.
  14. Sharath Babu GR, Anand T, Ilaiyaraja N, Khanum F, Gopalan N. Pelargonidin Modulates Keap1/Nrf2 Pathway Gene Expression and Ameliorates Citrinin-Induced Oxidative Stress in HepG2 Cells. Front Pharmacol. 2017;8:868. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00868.PubMedUsed to support: Cell culture study (laboratory only): pretreating HepG2 liver cells with pelargonidin chloride reduced citrinin-induced cell death and reactive oxygen species, raised the activity of heme oxygenase 1, glutathione transferase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and quinone reductase, and moved Nrf2 into the nucleus.
  15. Wan Y, Yang H, Zhang G. Pelargonidin alleviates acrolein-induced inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells by reducing COX-2 expression through the NF-κB pathway. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024;397(3):1737-1748. doi: 10.1007/s00210-023-02712-1.PubMedUsed to support: Cell culture study (laboratory only) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells: pelargonidin at 5 to 40 micromolar reduced acrolein-induced cell damage, NF-κB activation, COX-2 and the release of PGE2, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha. It does not show that pelargonidin acts this way in people.
  16. Ku SK, Yoon EK, Lee W, Kwon S, Lee T, Bae JS. Antithrombotic and antiplatelet activities of pelargonidin in vivo and in vitro. Arch Pharm Res. 2016;39(3):398-408. doi: 10.1007/s12272-016-0708-x.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory and mouse study: pelargonidin, but not pelargonidin-3-glucoside, prolonged the clotting times aPTT and PT, inhibited thrombin and factor Xa, fibrin polymerization and platelet aggregation, and had anticoagulant effects in mice. Source for the bleeding and blood thinner cautions; not tested in people.
  17. Kamenickova A, Anzenbacherova E, Pavek P, Soshilov AA, Denison MS, Anzenbacher P, Dvorak Z. Pelargonidin activates the AhR and induces CYP1A1 in primary human hepatocytes and human cancer cell lines HepG2 and LS174T. Toxicol Lett. 2013;218(3):253-9. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2013.01.020.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory study: pelargonidin was a weak activator of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, raised CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 messenger RNA in primary human liver cells (about 5 percent of the potency of the reference activator), and inhibited CYP1A1 activity in human liver microsomes (IC50 33 micromolar). Source for the drug interaction caution; clinical relevance untested.
  18. Zuidmeer L, Salentijn E, Rivas MF, Mancebo EG, Asero R, Matos CI, Pelgrom KT, Gilissen LJ, van Ree R. The role of profilin and lipid transfer protein in strawberry allergy in the Mediterranean area. Clin Exp Allergy. 2006;36(5):666-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2006.02453.x.PubMedUsed to support: Allergy study in apple-allergic patients with reported strawberry reactions (n=28; four confirmed by double-blind food challenge) or lipid transfer protein sensitization (n=34): strawberry contains an IgE-binding Bet v 1 homologue, profilin and lipid transfer protein (Fra a 3). The authors note few strawberry reactions are listed in the literature compared with other rose-family fruits.