Fig. 3

Stability of the major anthocyanins in Excoecaria leaves and in vitro. A-C Anthocyanin contents in Excoecaria leaves during maturation. Anthocyanin contents in Excoecaria leaves from stage 1 to 3 (as indicated in Fig. 1A) were analyzed by HPLC (A510nm). Peak 1 (P1) was further identified to be cyanidin-3-O-glucoside by UPLC-MS/MS (Additional file 1: Figure S1D), while Peak 2 (P2) was identified to be cyanidin 3-(2″-galloylglucoside) (Additional file 1: Figure S1E). D The relative content of P1 and P2 during leaf maturation in Excoecaria was represented by the peak area of the pigments. E In vitro stability of the major anthocyanins. The relative content of the three major anthocyanins as indicated in (A) and Fig. 2F was detected after staying at room temperature for 21 days. All the values were means of the measurements of three individual repeats, the statistical details of the values presented in (D) and (E) are as described in Fig. 1