**4.6 Anti-inflammatory effects of anthocyanins**

Inflammation is the body's defense against stimuli, which is usually to be regarded as beneficial but sometimes to be as harmful. The acute inflammation is a short-term self-limiting process, and the chronic systemic proinflammatory state can result in insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and other diseases [39]. When the body is in the acute inflammation, macrophages can effectively eliminate foreign materials by producing a large number of oxygen free radicals in a short time. However, when the acute inflammation changes into the chronic inflammation, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is out of control and dramatically increases, which will promote the inflammatory factors activated, aggravate the inflammatory response and gene mutations, and finally result in the occurrence of cancer [40]. Therefore, it is the important link to maintain the balance of free radicals and regulate the activity of SOD in the body against the inflammation [41]. Many studies indicated that anthocyanins showed strong anti-inflammatory activity in both in vivo and in vitro, and their effective mechanism may be the ability to remove ROS and regulate SOD activity [42]. Anthocyanins from *Ligustrum x vicaryi* Hort can inhibit the mice's auricle swelling induced by xylene, raise the serum SOD activity of mice, and then exert its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Studies by Kim et al. found that anthocyanins from *Glycine max* (L) *Merr* can inhibit ROS level in human gastric epithelial cells infected by *Helicobacter pylori* and in a dose-dependent manner, and the inhibition was significant [43]. In conclusion, anthocyanins have been proven to express high antioxidant properties, and the anti-inflammatory effect is primary from its inhibiting ROS production and enhancing SOD expression [39].
