They are very closely related, and for most readers the difference is mainly one of vocabulary. Anthocyanins are the broad family of purple-blue plant pigments. “Anthocyanosides” is an older, mostly European term for the sugar-bound anthocyanins found in bilberry. The practical catch is that labels using each word can measure content differently, so the percentages are not always comparable.
Anthocyanins: The Pigment Family
Anthocyanins give blackcurrants, bilberries, blueberries, and red cabbage their deep color. They belong to the flavonoid family of plant compounds and act as antioxidants. Hundreds of different anthocyanins exist in nature, so the word describes a large group, not a single molecule.
What “Anthocyanosides” Means
The “-oside” ending signals a sugar attached to the molecule. In plants, anthocyanins almost always travel with a sugar, which is why anthocyanosides and anthocyanins overlap so heavily. The name appears most often in European research and on bilberry labels.
A reference chapter on bilberry from the National Center for Biotechnology Information notes that bilberry is one of the richest natural sources of anthocyanins, and that the core pigments such as cyanidin and delphinidin are very rarely found without their sugars. So when a bilberry label says anthocyanosides, it is describing sugar-bound anthocyanins.
Why the Percentages Can Mislead
This is the part worth knowing. The same NCBI chapter explains that commercial bilberry products are often standardized to 25% anthocyanidins, which is equivalent to about 36% anthocyanins. The pigment is identical, but the number changes depending on whether you count the bare pigment or the pigment plus its sugar.
A clinical example shows how this plays out. A 12-week bilberry trial in 109 adults used an extract described as containing 36.89% total anthocyanins, according to the study published in Nutrients. If a bottle’s “25%” refers to anthocyanidins, it could be closer to that study extract in strength than the numbers suggest.
The takeaway is simple. Do not compare two products by percentage alone unless they report the same measure.
A Simple Way to Compare Products
Check three things on any label. First, which compound is named: anthocyanins, anthocyanidins, or anthocyanosides. Second, how many milligrams of extract the serving contains. Third, the standardization percentage.
Then do the math. Multiply the extract amount by the percentage to estimate the active pigment per serving. A 25 mg extract standardized to 25% provides roughly 6.25 mg of the named compound. A 100 mg extract at 10% provides 10 mg, even though its percentage looks smaller. This works only when the percentages describe the same thing, so look for that detail first.
Do Bilberry and Blackcurrant Differ?
Yes, and the differences come from the sugars and the pigment mix. Each fruit has its own anthocyanin profile, which is one reason supplements often combine sources. We explore this in our guides to bilberry for vision and blackcurrant and eye health.
What C3G Tells You About the Bigger Picture
Blackcurrant labels often mention C3G, short for cyanidin-3-glucoside. That is one specific anthocyanin, a single pigment inside the larger family. A line reading “2.2% C3G” therefore tells you how much of the extract is that one compound, while the overall anthocyanin percentage covers every pigment together. It is a handy example of how broad the word anthocyanin really is.
Does the Terminology Matter for Your Eyes?
Not much. Researchers studying eye fatigue and visual function use both terms for what is essentially the same class of compounds. What matters for you is the dose, the source, and the quality of the product, not which word appears on the label.
That said, a trustworthy label should state what the percentage refers to. Our guide to reading an eye supplement label covers what else to check.
Where Performance Lab Vision Fits In
Performance Lab Vision uses both terms on its label, which is a good illustration of the point above. Its bilberry extract is listed at 25 mg standardized to 25% anthocyanosides. Its blackcurrant extract is 25 mg standardized to 25% anthocyanins with typically 2.2% C3G, and it also includes 300 mg of freeze-dried blackcurrant fruit. Because each is measured under its own convention, the percentages should not be added or compared directly.
