Protective autophagy was induced over a range of treatment doses and was enhanced by an increase in the dose of delphinidin via suppression of the AKT/mTOR/eIF4e/p70s6k signalling pathway and activation of the LKB1/AMPK/ULK1/FOXO3a signalling pathway in HER-2 positive breast cancer cells. Here, ULK1 is linked to breast carcinoma.