Question
Can you talk about cyanidin-3 glucoside. It’s sold as a selective nutrient repartitioning agent. Is this legit? How does it work?
Answer
Cyanidin is one of the six Anthocyanins, and its glucoside Cyanidin-3-Glucoside (C3G) has been getting attention for its ability to decrease blood glucose levels, without hindering muscle protein synthesis. They’re a sub-category of the dark pigments found in blue and black berries as well as some purple vegetables.
It has various effects in cells, most of which can be described as being anti-diabetic and benefitting ‘metabolic syndrome’ (anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, etc.) It does have some problems with absorption though, so the results you see in in vitro studies (or a test tube) may not apply to humans. Its bioavailability (percent absorbed) is a concern, and studies on humans have yet to be performed. Our old friend IP-6, or Inositol Hexaphosphate has been shown to improve bioavailability when coingested. Quercetin is also synergistic with Cyanidin, and Cyanidin’s synergism with Quercetin is increased further with Ellagic Acid, a natural phenol antioxidant found in numerous fruits and vegetables.
The biggest outfit pushing this product is Biotest, and they’re selling it for $80 a whack under the name Indigo-3. Claims include greater glucose disposal, faster fat loss, muscle gain and improved work capacity.
Bottom Line
Outside of Biotest’s board, I have yet to hear a buzz around Cyanidin. It’s been out for a few years, so its not as if people haven’t had a chance to experiment with it. I have two issues with it, cost and a lack of human studies. It’s just too expensive in my book for a “maybe”, and I’d opt rather for R-ALA. If Cyanidin does posess glucose disposal properties, it’s a hell of an expensive way to get them. R-ALA is research proven, cheap as dirt (comparatively speaking) and has other benefits – such as building glutathione levels in the liver.
