Antioxidative activities of nasunin, isolated from Chouja-nasu (little eggplant, Solanum melongena L.'Chouja'), and of some other anthocyanins were studied by measuring their inhibitory effect on carotene oxidation induced by linoleic acid-lipoxygenase system (carotene bleaching method) and on autoxidation of linoleic acid. Nasunin showed the strongest antioxidative activity followed by malvin and rubrobrassicin when their activities were measured by carotene bleaching method at pH 7, and by linoleic acid autoxidation system at pH 2.8. Delphinindin, malvidin and cyanidin, which are aglycones of nasunin, malvin and rubrobrassicin, respectively, also showed antioxidative activities. The antioxidative activity of nasunin was stronger than that of delphinidin at pH 2.8, and the activity of malvin and rubrobrassicin showed slight difference from that of malvidin and cyanidin, respectively. These results presumably indicate that the p-coumaric acid moiety of nasunin at least partly contributes to its strong antioxidative activity.