Anthocyanin Enhances Development, Hatching, and GLUT4 Expression in In Vitro-Cultured ICR Mouse Blastocysts

Anthocyanin is a flavonoid known for its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in both in vitro and in vivo systems. This study investigated whether anthocyanin supplementation could improve the developmental competence, hatching rate, and the expression of development- and proliferation-related markers in ICR mouse blastocysts cultured in vitro. Mouse embryos were cultured in KSOM medium supplemented with 2, 4, or 8 μM anthocyanin. Among these, 4 μM was selected as the working concentration within the tested range. Morphological assessment was used to evaluate blastocyst development and hatching, while quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to measure the expression of GLUT4 and PI3K. Anthocyanin supplementation significantly enhanced blastocyst quality, as reflected by higher developmental competence and increased hatching rates compared with the control group. In addition, anthocyanin-treated blastocysts displayed elevated mRNA expression of GLUT4 and PI3K, indicating a potential association with enhanced metabolic readiness and cellular proliferation. Overall, these findings indicate that anthocyanin supports embryo quality during preimplantation development in vitro, with potential relevance to implantation-related processes. Further research is needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms and explore the potential applications of anthocyanin in reproductive medicine.