Malvidin

Malvidin is a purple-red pigment in the anthocyanin family, a branch of the flavonoids. Strictly, malvidin is the sugar-free core, called an anthocyanidin. In grapes, red wine and blueberries it nearly always carries a sugar, most often as malvidin-3-glucoside, also called oenin.

Malvidin is mainly responsible for the color of red wine. In USDA data, blueberries are the richest food, with 67.6 mg per 100 g, and red wine comes second at 13.8 mg.

Its color depends on acidity. Slightly acidic and neutral solutions look red, and basic (alkaline) ones turn blue. A 2022 review says a wine’s color is set by the anthocyanin in its positively charged flavylium form. That form is strongly shaped by the wine’s pH, its acidity.

Wine color also changes with age. In 1998 French chemists found a new class of stable red pigments in grape pomace, the skins and seeds left after pressing. The main one was malvidin-3-glucoside joined to pyruvic acid, a yeast metabolite, and this reaction made the color more stable.

Here is a fact most readers do not know: malvidin has helped date wine. At Areni-1, a cave in Armenia, researchers found a winery from about 4100 to 4000 BC. Chemists found malvidin on three pottery fragments. They called it highly reliable evidence of wine, because the only other local fruit with it, pomegranate, left no remains at the site.

Health benefits of malvidin

• ★★No clear effect on blood fatsAmong 18 trials of anthocyanin-rich foods and supplements, the products whose main anthocyanin was malvidin had no clear effect on blood fats or glucose. They were mixed foods, so no result belongs to malvidin alone.
• ★Poorly absorbed from red wine and grape juiceOnly 0.18% of wine anthocyanins and 0.23% of juice anthocyanins reached the urine. In 6 men, malvidin-3-glucoside blood levels after wine were about half those after grape juice.
• ★Lower inflammation marker after a red wine extractIn 7 healthy volunteers, 12 g of an anthocyanin extract from red wine lowered the inflammation marker MCP-1 and raised antioxidant capacity in blood. There was no placebo group, and the extract held other compounds besides malvidin.
• Population studyLinked to lower odds of frailtyIn a US survey of adults, higher intake of malvidin, delphinidin and total anthocyanidins each went with lower odds of frailty. A one-time survey cannot show cause.
• Population studyLinked to lower Alzheimer’s odds in older adultsIn a US survey of 3,806 adults over 60, the highest anthocyanidin intake group had 0.979 times the odds of Alzheimer’s of the lowest group. Cyanidin and malvidin were the main contributors.

Foods high in malvidin

Blueberries and red wine lead the USDA data. Blueberries hold 67.6 mg per 100 g, about 100 mg in a cup (148 g). Red wine holds 13.8 mg per 100 g, about 20 mg in a 5 fl oz glass.

Cranberries, raspberries and strawberries hold under 0.5 mg per 100 g. The ranking below is from USDA data.

Red grape juice is another source. In one human study, 500 mL of red wine gave 68 mg of malvidin-3-glucoside. 500 mL of a red grape juice gave 117 mg, about 23 mg per 100 mL by our arithmetic.

A survey covered 36,037 adults in ten European countries. Malvidins and cyanidins were the main anthocyanidins in their diet, and the biggest sources were fruit, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and some vegetables.

How malvidin works

Part of what we know comes from people, such as how little malvidin is absorbed. Most of the rest comes from test tubes, cells and animals. Three ideas come up again and again. The body takes up only a little and changes it, gut chemistry breaks the rest into smaller acids, and in cells it dampens inflammation signals.

Wine ageing adds a chemical twist. Here is each one, and what has been seen in people.

Very little gets into the blood

Malvidin glycosides do reach the blood and urine after red wine or grape juice, but only a sliver of the dose. In 9 volunteers, 0.18% of the anthocyanins in red wine and 0.23% of those in red grape juice reached the urine within 7 hours. In 7 volunteers given a red wine anthocyanin extract, 0.05% did over 24 hours. In a perfusion experiment in rat intestine, malvidin-3-glucoside was absorbed less (10.7%) than cyanidin-3-glucoside (22.4%).

Gut chemistry breaks it into smaller acids

In a simulated digestion of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, anthocyanins stayed stable at stomach pH but fell sharply in the simulated intestine. Malvidin-3-glucoside broke down into syringic, protocatechuic and vanillic acid. In pig gut contents, a grape anthocyanin extract was undetectable after 6 hours, and three products had appeared.

The authors of that study say these products may carry some of the protective effects attributed to anthocyanins. The human wine and juice study made a similar suggestion, but that has not been shown.

It dampens inflammation signals in cells

In cell studies, malvidin and its glycosides turned down NF-κB, a switch that turns on inflammation. In endothelial cells, the cells lining blood vessels, malvidin-3-glucoside held back MCP-1, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, signals of vessel inflammation. In macrophages, malvidin reduced NF-κB activation.

In human blood cells exposed to a bacterial toxin, it lowered IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1β and COX-2. It also blocked the NF-κB steps that start them. Two cautions: some of these tests used the sugar-free form, which was not found in human blood after wine. And the human studies above found only small amounts of any form in blood.

Wine ageing turns it into new pigments

During fermentation and ageing, malvidin-3-glucoside reacts with other wine molecules to form pyranoanthocyanins. In Grenache wines, vitisins A and B formed only during alcoholic fermentation. Pinotin A, made from malvidin-3-glucoside and caffeic acid, formed only during ageing.

In lab tests, the new pigments that carry an extra phenol group scavenged free radicals better than malvidin-3-glucoside. Two types, the oxovitisins and methylpyranomalvidin-3-glucoside, did worse. We found no human study of these pigments.

What has been seen in people

These effects are much easier to show in a dish than in a person. Only a fraction of a percent of the anthocyanins in wine or juice reached the urine. The one meta-analysis that sorted trials by main anthocyanin found no clear blood fat effect for malvidin-based foods.

Surveys link higher intake to lower odds of frailty and dental caries, but cannot show cause. All of these are among the study cards above.

Is malvidin safe? Supplements, dose and interactions

We found no safety concern for malvidin at food amounts, and no upper level set for malvidin itself. In the European survey above, adults ate roughly 19 to 65 mg a day of anthocyanidins in total, mostly from fruit, wine and other drinks.

Food colors made from grape skin are rich in malvidin glucosides. For them, the FAO/WHO expert committee JECFA set an acceptable daily intake of 0 to 2.5 mg per kg of body weight in 1982. That is about 175 mg for a 70 kg adult, by our arithmetic.

In 2013, the EU’s food safety agency (EFSA) found toxicity data too limited to set a figure for anthocyanins as a food additive (E 163). But it judged that exposure from current uses of grape skin and blackcurrant extracts was unlikely to be a safety concern. These rules cover food colors, not supplements.

• Supplements and doses. We found no trial of purified malvidin as a supplement, so no dose has been tested for benefit or safety. The human absorption studies used drinks holding 58 to 117 mg of malvidin-3-glucoside. One gave a single 12 g dose of a red wine anthocyanin extract.
• Red wine is not a health food. Alcohol is a known risk factor for cancer. A 2026 review of 27 meta-analyses linked wine to higher risk of oral and throat cancer (2.12 times the risk) and esophageal cancer (5.34). It found similar breast cancer estimates for red and white wine. Berries and grape juice give malvidin without alcohol.
• Juice and sugar. The authors of the juice and smoothie study note that these drinks have a relatively high sugar content.
• Medicines and pregnancy. We found no study of malvidin with medicines or in pregnancy. If you take regular medicines or are pregnant, ask your doctor before using any concentrated grape or berry extract.

How to get more malvidin

• Best food. In the USDA data, blueberries give about 100 mg of malvidin in a cup (148 g). A 5 fl oz glass of red wine gives about 20 mg.
• Juice or wine. In 6 men, blood malvidin-3-glucoside after red grape juice was about twice that after red wine. The juice held about twice as much (117 against 68 mg in 500 mL). Juice is alcohol free.
• Expect small amounts in blood. Only 0.18 to 0.23% of the anthocyanins in wine or juice reached the urine within 7 hours. The gut breaks much of the rest into smaller acids. We found no trial showing that more malvidin brings a health gain.

History of malvidin

The oldest chemical story of malvidin is about wine itself. At Areni-1, a cave complex in Armenia, excavators found a wine press, a fermentation vat, grape seeds and dried vines. Radiocarbon dating placed the installation at about 4100 to 4000 BC, in the Late Chalcolithic (Copper Age). That is roughly 1,000 years older than the earliest comparable find.

Malvidin in the residue on pottery pointed to grapes. The vat’s size, about 14 to 15 gallons, suggested the contents were wine, since that much juice would spoil quickly.

Modern chemistry has shown how wine keeps its color. In 1998 a team in Montpellier, France, described the malvidin-3-glucoside and pyruvic acid pigment from grape pomace. They proposed that such reactions may be an important route to stable pigments during wine maturation and ageing. Later work followed the vitisins and related pigments through fermentation and ageing in single wines.

Malvidin also colors food. JECFA lists grape skin extract (INS 163ii) as a color additive whose main coloring matters are the glucosides of peonidin, malvidin, delphinidin and petunidin. It evaluated the extract in 1977 without setting a limit, and set an acceptable daily intake of 0 to 2.5 mg per kg in 1982. EFSA re-evaluated anthocyanins as food additives in 2013.

Frequently asked questions about malvidin

What does malvidin do for the body?

No trial has tested pure malvidin in people, so its effects are not proven. A meta-analysis of 18 trials found no clear blood fat effect for malvidin-based foods. Surveys link higher intake to lower odds of frailty and dental caries but cannot show cause. Cell studies show anti-inflammatory effects at concentrations people may not reach.

Which foods are high in malvidin?

Blueberries lead the USDA data at 67.6 mg per 100 g, about 100 mg in a cup. Red wine follows at 13.8 mg per 100 g, and cranberries, raspberries and strawberries hold under 0.5 mg. Red grape juice is another source: one study measured 117 mg of malvidin-3-glucoside in 500 mL.

How much malvidin does the body absorb?

Very little reaches the urine intact. In 9 volunteers, 0.18% of the anthocyanins in red wine and 0.23% of those in red grape juice were excreted within 7 hours.

In 6 men, malvidin-3-glucoside was found in blood after wine and juice. It did not appear as the sugar-free form or as sulfate or glucuronide forms. Other studies did find glucuronides of malvidin in blood.

Is red wine healthy because of malvidin?

Not on current evidence. Malvidin-3-glucoside is poorly absorbed from wine, and the authors of that study suggest other compounds may explain any effects.

Alcohol is a known cancer risk factor. A 2026 review of 27 meta-analyses linked wine to higher oral and throat cancer risk (2.12 times) and esophageal cancer risk (5.34). A cup of blueberries gives about 100 mg of malvidin without alcohol.

Should you take a malvidin supplement?

There is no evidence to support it. We found no trial of a purified malvidin supplement, so no dose has been tested for benefit or safety. EFSA and JECFA looked at grape skin color additives, not supplements. Talk to a doctor before using a concentrated grape or berry extract if you take medicines or are pregnant.

What is the difference between malvidin, cyanidin and delphinidin?

All three are anthocyanidins, the colored cores of anthocyanin pigments. A meta-analysis found that delphinidin-based foods lowered LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while cyanidin- and malvidin-based foods did not significantly. The authors suggest methylated anthocyanins such as malvidin may work less well than unmethylated ones. See also the cyanidin and delphinidin pages.

What is oenin?

Oenin is another name for malvidin-3-glucoside, malvidin with one glucose sugar attached. It is the form tested in the human absorption studies of red wine and grape juice. It is also the form in blueberries and in the skin of red grapes. In cells, 1 µM of malvidin-3-glucoside cut the inflammation signal ICAM-1 by 54.4%.

Why does red wine change color as it ages?

Young wine gets its color from grape anthocyanins such as malvidin-3-glucoside and from copigments that stabilize them. During ageing, new pigments form and copigmentation fades, according to a 2022 review. Some of the new pigments, such as the pyruvic acid derivative of malvidin-3-glucoside, are more color-stable than the original.