**1. Introduction**

Vegetables are considered an invaluable ingredient of human diet, since they diversify color of various food products and they also possess beneficial health effects due to their content in various phytochemicals such as flavonoids, betalains and carotenoids and the overall high antioxidant capacity [1–3]. Consumption of purple/blue fresh produce is associated with increased nutrient intake and reduced risk for metabolic syndrome [4]. Based on food intake data from NHANES 2001–2002, the daily intake of anthocyanins was estimated to be 12.5 mg/day/person in the United States [5]. The predominant dietary anthocyanins are malvidin, delphinidin, and peonidin glycosides [6], which can be found in many plant foods, including berries, purple sweet potatoes, grapes, and wine [7].

In comparison with other flavonoids, anthocyanins possess a positive charge on their C-ring, which leads to different colors in response to various pH [8].

Anthocyanins not only have aesthetic importance by generating characteristic purple, bluish, orange, and reddish pigments in various plant tissues [9], but also have biological functions including protective effects against radiation, reactive oxygen species scavenging, defense against pathogens and stress conditions, and attracting seed and pollen dispersers [10–12]. These compounds also have nutritional value and potential health benefits [13].

Leafy vegetables are widely consumed throughout the world and they significantly contribute to the overall recommended daily intake for several nutrients essential for human body [14]. They include several species among which lettuce is considered the most important salad vegetable and several reports highlighted its significance in human nutrition [15,16]. On the other hand, the Solanaceae family has approximately 2700 species and 99 genera and includes some of the most important fruit vegetables consumed globally. *Solanum*, the largest and most complex genus in this family, is of great economic importance with several species used as foods, medicines, and ornamental plants [17]. In other popular vegetables consumed worldwide such as broccoli, cauliflower, and artichoke, the immature inflorescence constitutes the edible portion and represent a rich source of flavonoids, anthocyanins, and other bioactive compounds that are also responsible for their pigmentation [18–21]. In the case of sweet corn, another popular vegetable used for fresh consumption as well as for canned and freezing processing, differing from the regular corn only for a higher accumulation of sugar in the kernels, the ear including cob and kernels constitute a rich source of natural colorants including carotenoids and flavonoids [22]. Yet, in other cases like asparagus the edible portion and source of anthocyanins is constituted by the young stems [23].

Recently we published a review paper regarding colored root vegetable species focusing on the most important coloring compounds and their antioxidant effects. With the present review we aim to continue this work and present the rest of colored vegetable crops, focusing on leafy and fruit vegetables and relevant species where other plant parts are consumed. Having in mind the same context, the main coloring compounds are highlighted, while a special section for each species is allocated to their health effects and antioxidant properties. The information presented in this review was systematically gathered from scientific databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate by using various keywords and key phrases, e.g., the common and Latin of the main species and/or the terms "health effects", "antioxidant compounds", "colored leafy vegetables", "colored fruit vegetables", "blue vegetables", "purple vegetables", and "anthocyanins".
