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Blueberries Now Linked To Improved
Blood Vessel Health
Rich Source of Potent Antioxidants, Carotenoids
and Phytonutrients Beneficial For Supporting
Cardiovascular Health
The popularity of Blueberries has increased in recent years with
science supporting its health benefits, and an overall health-conscious
consumer shift towards “superfruits” and antioxidant-rich foods.
Blueberries, known as nature’s only “blue” food, are a rich source of
polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that include phenolics acids, tannins,
flavonols and anthocyanins. The berries are said to have a number of
positive health effects, including cholesterol reduction, and prevention
against some cancers and neuro-degenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.
Now, a new study suggests supplementing the diet with wild blueberries
may reduce blood pressure. Subjects who were fed a diet supplemented
with 8 percent wild blueberries experienced less constriction in blood
vessels, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry.
“The unique goal and approach of our study was to examine the dietary
effect of wild blueberries, and not isolated bioactive compounds, on
vascular tone” wrote researchers from the University of Maine,
Northwestern University, and the University of Louisville, KY.
“Our data provide clear evidence that the 8 week dietary treatment with
8 percent wild blueberry in the subjects with established endothelial
dysfunction results in a significant moderation of the increased aortic
vascular tone,” they added.
The berries were proposed to act via the Nitric Oxide pathway. Nitric
Oxide (NO) is a potent vasodilator, a compound that promotes the
dilation or relaxation of blood vessels, thereby easing blood pressure.
Study Details
The researchers fed spontaneously hypertensive subjects a control or
a wild blueberry diet for eight weeks. The blueberries were provided as
a composite by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America
(WBANA), and were freeze-dried and powdered by Illinois’
FutureCeuticals.
After the eight weeks of the controlled dietary intervention, the subjects
were exposed to the compound l-phenylephrine (a vasoconstrictor),
with or without l-NG-monomethyl arginine, a compound known to inhibit
the enzyme Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS).
Results showed that “the vasoconstriction elicited by l-phenylephrine
was reduced in the wild blueberry group, attributed to the Nitric Oxide
pathway, favoring a lower vascular tone under basal conditions”.
“These findings document the potential of wild blueberries to modify
major pathways of vasomotor control and improve the vascular tone
in the hypertensive subjects with endothelial dysfunction,” they
concluded.
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