Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to
anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. and improvement of visual adaptation
to the dark (ID 2750) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No
1924/2006[sup]1[/sup]
EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Słowa kluczowe:
Anthocyanins
Ribes nigrum L
1. Charakterystyka żywności / składnika
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Poprawa adaptacji wzroku w ciemności
The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L.
Anthocyanins belong to the group of phenolic constituents known as flavonoids. The naturally existing form is the glycosylated form of anthocyanidins. Ribes nigrum L. (black currant)’s anthocyanin content comprises four constituents, delphinidin 3-rutinoside, delphinidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside (Kähkönen et al., 2003), and is measurable by established methods.
The Panel considers that the food constituent, anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L., which is the subject of the health claim, is sufficiently characterised.
2. Znaczenie oświadczenia dla zdrowia człowieka
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Poprawa adaptacji wzroku w ciemności
The claimed effect is “eye health”. The Panel assumes that the target population is the general population.
In the context of the proposed wordings, the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to an improvement of visual adaptation to the dark.
The Panel considers that improvement of visual adaptation to the dark is a beneficial physiological effect.
3. Naukowe uzasadnienia wpływu na zdrowie człowieka - Poprawa adaptacji wzroku w ciemności
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Poprawa adaptacji wzroku w ciemności
Among the references provided for the scientific substantiation of the claim there was one paper which reported on the antioxidant activity of unidentified flavonoids and one narrative review which addressed potential effects of anthocyanins on visual function but which did not contain original data that could be used for the scientific substantiation of the claim. One systematic review addressed the effect of anthocyanins from bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), but not from Ribes nigrum L., on night
vision. The Panel considers that no conclusions can be drawn from these references for the scientific substantiation of the claim.
One human, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study in 12 healthy subjects investigated the effect of a black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) extract on adaptation to the dark (Nakaishi et al., 2000). The black currant anthocyanin (BCA) concentrate contained 9.2 % anthocyanins, consisting of 4.61 % delphinidin 3-rutinoside, 1.36 % delphinidin 3-glucoside, 2.83 % cyanidin 3-rutinoside and 0.40 % cyanidin 3-glucoside. The subjects received doses of 135, 270, 540 mg BCA concentrate (corresponding to 12.5, 25 and 50 mg anthocyanins, respectively) and placebo (sucrose) in capsules, once each on the day in which dark adaptation visual thresholds were measured. Dark adaptation visual thresholds were measured after 30 minutes of dark adaptation, both before and two hours after the intake of the BCA concentrate. The Panel notes that while the study used a cross-over design, the statistical analyses applied (paired t-test) did not test for sequence and period effects. The Panel considers that no conclusions can be drawn from this study for the scientific substantiation of the claim.
One animal study reported on the distribution of black currant anthocyanins in rabbit and rat ocular tissue (Matsumoto et al., 2006). One in vitro study assessed the effect of cyanidin 3-glycosides on the regeneration of rhodopsin (Matsumoto et al., 2003), and two in vitro studies investigated the antioxidant activity of anthocyanosides from various plant extracts, including Ribes nigrum L. (Kahkonen et al., 1999; Nakajima et al., 2004). The Panel considers that evidence provided in animal and in vitro studies is not sufficient to predict the occurrence of an effect of consumption of anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. on the improvement of visual adaptation to the dark in vivo in humans.
The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. and improvement of visual adaptation to the dark.
Wnioski
On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that:
The food constituent, anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L., which is the subject of the health claim, is sufficiently characterised.
The claimed effect is “eye health”. The target population is assumed to be the general population. In the context of the proposed wordings, it is assumed that the claimed effect refers to an improvement of visual adaptation to the dark. Improvement of visual adaptation to the dark is a beneficial physiological effect.
A cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of anthocyanins from Ribes nigrum L. and improvement of visual adaptation to the dark.
