Salinity is a major abiotic stress factor affecting crop plants' growth, development, and yield in many areas of the world, which may greatly influence the world's food security in the future. It is therefore a must to understand and unmask the crop salinity tolerance mechanisms to find biomarkers that can be utilized in developing crop species resistant to high salinity. Anthocyanins are a class of secondary metabolites that are produced as one of the final products of the flavonoid pathway. Anthocyanins have been shown to accumulate in tolerant species/genotypes under saline conditions providing important roles under stress. Anthocyanin accumulation under salinity stress is hence correlated with plant salinity tolerance, and anthocyanin synthesis downregulation at least in part has boosted the accumulation of ROS and increased the plant sensitivity to stress. In addition, evidence indicates anthocyanins have many human health benefits, pointing out the high demand for anthocyanins. Further, elevated anthocyanin production under high salinity has been shown to be related to increased expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis and regulatory genes, suggesting these genes may be candidates for the improvement of anthocyanin accumulation and crop salinity tolerance. Genetic and nongenetic approaches have successfully improved anthocyanin accumulation and promoted crop tolerance to high salinity. In this review, we provide a comprehensive view of the state-of-the-art literature on anthocyanins, discussing recent evidence related to anthocyanin accumulation and its roles in crop salinity tolerance, as well as anthocyanin synthesis, regulation, transport, and genetic manipulation. Strategies for enhancing anthocyanin levels under saline stress are also pointed out. It is noteworthy that the development of anthocyanin-enriched crops will not only enhance the salinity tolerance and productivity of horticultural and agronomic crops but also will increase valuable natural bioactive compounds that provide several critical health benefits for humans.

盐度是影响世界许多地区农作物生长发育和产量的主要非生物胁迫因子，可能对未来世界粮食安全产生重大影响。因此，必须了解和揭示作物的耐盐机制，以找到可用于开发耐高盐作物品种的生物标志物。花青素是一类次级代谢产物，作为类黄酮途径的最终产物之一产生。花青素已显示在盐碱条件下在耐受性物种/基因型中积累，在压力下提供重要作用。因此，盐胁迫下花青素的积累与植物耐盐性相关，花青素合成下调至少在一定程度上促进了 ROS 的积累并增加了植物对胁迫的敏感性。此外，有证据表明花青素对人类健康有许多益处，表明人们对花青素的需求量很大。此外，高盐度下花青素产量的增加已被证明与花青素生物合成和调控基因表达的增加有关，表明这些基因可能是提高花青素积累和作物耐盐性的候选基因。遗传和非遗传方法已经成功地提高了花青素的积累并促进了作物对高盐度的耐受性。在这篇综述中，我们全面介绍了有关花青素的最新文献，讨论与花青素积累及其在作物耐盐性以及花青素合成、调节、运输和遗传操作中的作用相关的最新证据。还指出了在盐胁迫下提高花青素水平的策略。值得注意的是，开发富含花青素的作物不仅会提高园艺和农作物的耐盐性和生产力，还会增加有价值的天然生物活性化合物，为人类提供多种重要的健康益处。