also: Grape skin extract · Blackcurrant extract · Enocianina
The red, purple and blue pigment in berries, grapes and red cabbage, extracted and used as a food colour.
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Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Water, Pork Gelatine, Acids: Citric Acid, Acetic Acid, Acidity Regulator: Sodium Citrates, Colour: Anthocyanins, Flavouring
Anthocyanins are the pigments that make berries, red grapes and red cabbage red, purple or blue.
879
of the 43,325 UK supermarket foods we checked declare E163 in their ingredients
That is 2%, counted by its code or its name. The count includes every form of E163 (E163a, E163b, E163c, E163d, E163e, E163f).
Counted by NutraSafe from UK supermarket ingredient lists, September 2026. How we counted
Anthocyanins are the pigments that make berries, red grapes and red cabbage red, purple or blue. For food colour they are extracted with water, slightly acidic water or alcohol from edible plants such as grape skins, blackcurrants, red cabbage, black carrots and elderberries. Grape skin and blackcurrant extracts are the most common. They belong to the polyphenols, a large family of plant compounds.
They colour food, and the colour changes with acidity: red in acidic food, purple in neutral food and blue-green in alkaline food. So they are brightest and last longest in sharp foods like fruit juice, yoghurt drinks and jam. Heat, light and air break them down, so the colour can fade over time or in cooking.
Fruit-flavoured soft drinks, juices and squash, fruit yoghurts and dairy drinks, jam, sweets, ice cream and ice lollies, fruit fillings in baking, and some flavoured spirits and fruit wines. Labels call it anthocyanins or E163.
Trials giving people anthocyanin supplements or anthocyanin-rich berries have found lower LDL cholesterol, higher HDL cholesterol, lower blood fats and fewer signs of inflammation. Studies following large groups found people who eat more anthocyanins have less coronary heart disease. Blood pressure results are mixed. Most trials used concentrated supplements, at far more than a food colour adds.
Pooling 44 randomised trials, purified anthocyanin supplements lowered LDL cholesterol by 5.43mg/dL, raised HDL cholesterol by 11.49mg/dL and lowered triglycerides by 6.18mg/dL compared with control.
In the 15 cohort studies in the same review, higher anthocyanin intake was linked to 17% less coronary heart disease (RR 0.83) and 27% less heart and circulation disease overall (RR 0.73).
Pooling 32 randomised trials (1,491 people), anthocyanin supplements lowered fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, with no clear effect on blood pressure.
Little of what you eat is absorbed whole in the small intestine. Most reaches the large bowel, where bacteria break it into smaller compounds. In a review of rodent studies, diets rich in anthocyanins shifted the balance of gut bacteria and raised short-chain fatty acids. These findings come from animals, and evidence in people is limited.
Across 34 rodent studies, anthocyanin diets clearly lowered the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bacteria and raised acetic, propionic and butyric acid. All studies were in animals, so how this applies to people is uncertain.
Only 1 to 2% of anthocyanins eaten reach the blood unchanged. Gut bacteria turn most of them into smaller compounds, which may be behind the effects seen.
When European reviewers looked at anthocyanins as an additive in 2013, they found too little toxicity data to set a numerical daily limit. They noted that intake from the additive was higher than from normal food, and asked for better data. For extracts made with water from edible fruit and vegetables, they did not expect a problem at current use. For other sources or methods, they could not check.
Reviewers found the toxicity data for anthocyanins (E163) too thin to set a numerical daily limit, and recommended requiring better data on what the extracts contain and on toxicity.
For anthocyanins extracted with water from edible fruit and vegetables, reviewers did not expect current use to raise a safety issue. For other sources or extraction methods, missing data meant they could not confirm this.
Daily limit. None set (European reviewers, 2013, found the data too thin). The international committee set 2.5mg per kg of body weight a day for grape skin extract specifically.
No group is told to avoid it, and it is not a declared allergen. People sensitive to grapes or blackcurrants may want to know that most commercial extracts come from them. Look for anthocyanins or E163.
Anthocyanins are in many everyday foods, including blueberries, blackcurrants, red cabbage and red grapes, so the amount from a food colour adds to what many people already eat. European reviewers found the formal safety data thin enough that they could not set a limit, which is a gap in the data, not a finding of harm. Trials suggest high-dose supplements improve cholesterol and blood sugar, but at doses far above what a colour adds. The gut bacteria findings are so far from animals.
No. Anthocyanins are approved in the UK and are on the Food Standards Agency's list.
In 2013 European reviewers found the toxicity data too thin to work out a numerical limit. That is a gap in the data, not a finding of harm. They judged water-based extracts of edible fruit unlikely to be a problem at current use, but asked for better data on what the extracts contain and for more toxicity studies.
Fruit-flavoured soft drinks, fruit yoghurt drinks, jam, sweets, ice cream, ice lollies, and some fruit wines and ciders. Labels call it anthocyanins or E163.
Yes. It is extracted only from plants, such as grape skins, blackcurrants, red cabbage and black carrots.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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