Stabilization strategies for anthocyanins: recent advances

Anthocyanins (ACNs), one of the most common natural pigments, have been extensively used in various fields, including food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Depending on the groups attached to the flavylium cation in ACNs, they give different colors to plants. Despite their good colorant and health-promoting properties, the use of ACNs is limited due to their labile structure under various conditions, such as pH, heat, light, and enzymes. Numerous studies have been reported on increasing the stability of ACNs through structural modification such as acylation, glycosylation, pyranization, copigmentation with phenolics and metal ions, complexes with other biomolecules, and encapsulation. This review aims to summarize the fundamental knowledge on methods for enhancing the stability of ACNs, drawing on the most recent research. Lastly, challenges and future work are also discussed.