Peonidin
A natural plant pigment found in cranberries, blueberries and red grapes, used to give foods a red, purple or blue colour.
What is it?
Peonidin is an anthocyanidin, one of the six main pigment compounds in the anthocyanin family. It is the O-methylated form of cyanidin and the pigment responsible for the deep red and purplish-red colours in peonies, roses, certain morning glories, cranberries, blueberries, plums, and red grapes. In food use it operates within the broader E163 anthocyanins category. Its colour shifts with pH: cherry red in acid conditions, grape-red purple at neutral pH, deep blue in alkaline conditions.
What does it do?
Peonidin absorbs certain wavelengths of light to produce colour, acting as a natural dye in food and drink. Manufacturers use it to restore colour lost during heat processing or to standardise the shade of finished products. Like other anthocyanins it is pH-sensitive, making it useful for products across a range of acidic conditions.
Where you will see it
Peonidin and its glycoside forms occur naturally in cranberries (up to 42mg per 100g), blueberries, plums, red grapes and cherries. As a food additive, anthocyanins including peonidin appear in soft drinks, fruit-flavoured yogurts and dairy desserts, jams and fruit spreads, confectionery and gummy sweets, ice cream, breakfast cereals, baked goods and some alcoholic beverages. On a UK label it will appear as colour (anthocyanins), colour (E163), or simply anthocyanins. The specific sub-code E163e is not used on retail labels.
What the science says
Laboratory findings on cancer cells
In cell culture studies, peonidin-3-glucoside (a form found in grapes) slowed the spread of lung cancer cells and disrupted molecular signalling pathways involved in tumour invasion. Peonidin has also shown the ability to trigger cell death in breast cancer cell lines. These are laboratory experiments, not human trials, and researchers note that peonidin is rapidly broken down in the body, limiting how much reaches tissues after eating.
Peonidin-3-glucoside inhibited lung cancer cell invasion and motility in both cell culture and mouse-tumour models by blocking ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the MAPK signalling pathway.
Peonidin caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and triggered apoptosis in cancer cell lines in vitro.
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity
Anthocyanins including peonidin show antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in laboratory models. A range of animal and some human studies across the anthocyanin family suggest potential cardiovascular and neuroprotective effects, though evidence from randomised trials in humans is limited compared with the volume of laboratory work.
Anthocyanins suppressed pro-inflammatory markers including IL-6, IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha in cell and animal models.
Dietary anthocyanins were associated with protective effects against cardiovascular disease in observational and animal studies; human RCT evidence remains limited.
Toxicological database and ADI
EFSA reviewed the safety of E163 anthocyanins in 2013 and concluded the available toxicological data were not sufficient to set a numerical acceptable daily intake. No chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity or reproductive studies specific to peonidin were available. EFSA judged that exposure from food use was unlikely to raise concern, given the long history of dietary consumption of anthocyanin-rich foods.
EFSA's Panel on Food Additives concluded the toxicological database for E163 anthocyanins was inadequate to establish a numerical ADI; long-term studies on chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity, and reproductive effects were absent or extremely limited.
Where it stands with the regulators
Who should be careful
No specific group is required by law to avoid E163 anthocyanins. People who observe certain kosher dietary rules may note that grape-derived anthocyanins require supervision. Peonidin and E163 anthocyanins do not contain sulphites, gluten, or other commonly declared allergens. Look for anthocyanins or E163 on the label.
The honest read
Peonidin is one of the most ordinary colourings in the UK food supply. It comes from the same pigments that colour cranberries, blueberries and red grapes. The laboratory studies on anticancer effects in cell lines are genuine findings, but they are far removed from real-world dietary exposure, and no clinical trials have followed. The outstanding point from regulators is the absence of long-term toxicology data specific to peonidin, which is why no numerical acceptable daily intake has been set, even though the compound has been in the food supply for decades. The science on potential benefits is early-stage; the science on harm is thin. Neither picture is settled.
Related additives
Common questions
Is E163e banned in the UK?
No. Peonidin is one of the constituent anthocyanidins within the E163 anthocyanins group, which is approved for use as a food colour in the UK and EU. It does not have a separate E-number in UK or EU legislation but is covered under the E163 authorisation.
Why has no acceptable daily intake been set for E163 anthocyanins?
In its 2013 re-evaluation, EFSA found the available toxicological data too limited to set a numerical ADI. Long-term studies on chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive effects were absent or insufficient for the anthocyanin group as a whole. EFSA judged that current exposure levels were unlikely to be a concern given the long history of eating anthocyanin-rich foods, but the formal data gaps mean no number has been fixed.
What foods contain E163e?
As a natural pigment, peonidin occurs in cranberries, blueberries, plums, red grapes and cherries. As a food additive it appears in soft drinks, yogurts, jams, confectionery, ice cream, and some baked goods, declared on the label as anthocyanins or E163.
Is E163e vegan?
Yes. Peonidin and all E163 anthocyanins are derived from plant sources and are vegan and vegetarian. When extracted from grapes, some Jewish dietary traditions may require rabbinical supervision of the grape product, but the compound itself is plant-derived.
Sources
- UK FSA Authorised Regulated Food and Feed Products - E163 Anthocyanins
- EFSA Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of anthocyanins (E163) as a food additive, EFSA Journal 2013;11(4):3145
- Peonidin - Wikipedia
- Anthocyanidins and anthocyanins: colored pigments as food, pharmaceutical ingredients, and the potential health benefits, Food and Nutrition Research 2017 (PMC5613902)
- Anthocyanins: A Comprehensive Review of Their Chemical Properties and Health Effects on Cardiovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases (PMC7504512)
- Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Effects of Anthocyanins in In Vitro and In Vivo Studies (PMC11428540)
- Peonidin-3-glucoside inhibits lung cancer metastasis by downregulation of proteinases activities and MAPK pathway, Nutrition and Cancer 2010
- UK FSA Approved Additives and E Numbers
- NATCOL - Anthocyanins INS 163 / E 163
- Food-Info.net - E163 Anthocyanins
- European Commission Food and Feed Information Portal - Anthocyanins E163
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