Evidence for Health Benefits of Berries

Abstract

Historically, the consumption of berries has been associated with a variety of health benefits. Many traditional or folk medicines have used berries in remedies for a range of health issues. In addition, substantial scientific evidence has accrued over the past 20 years, highlighting that components from berries have measurable beneficial effects on health. Berries are best known for their accumulation of antioxidant components (mainly associated with polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamin C) and have amongst the highest antioxidant capacity of commonly eaten foods; however, recent evidence also suggests that a wider variety of phytochemical components present in berries may also contribute towards beneficial effects on health. This article provides an overview of current scientific evidence derived from animal, human, and epidemiologic studies regarding the effects of consuming berries or important phytochemical components of berries on various neurodegenerative and non‐communicable diseases and discusses the underlying mechanisms involved.

Antinociceptive effects of maqui-berry (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz)

“…The use of maqui, in folk medicine, was preliminary demonstrated in a study regarding the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of the plant leaves (Muñoz et al 2011). Nowadays, the berries have increased their uses and are broadly selected to develop healthy or potential functional foods, because of their biological attributions (high antioxidant cap-acity, cardio-protection and inhibition of adipogenesis and diabetes symptoms) (Yang and Kortesniemi 2015;Foito et al 2018). This activity is mainly due to the (poly)phenolic fraction, specifically anthocyanin-based compounds, that account for over 80% of total (poly)phenols (Giron es-Vilaplana et al 2012;Girones-Vilaplana et al 2014).…”

A Review of Registered Clinical Trials on Dietary (Poly)Phenols: Past Efforts and Possible Future Directions

“…This could be due to the increased interest in the industrial exploitation and development of food extracts for use as nutraceuticals. In details, among polyphenol-rich foods, there is still a great interest in berries due to their high content in phenolic compounds, such as phenolic acids, flavonols and anthocyanins and there are many papers demonstrating their positive role in the modulation of several physiological functions [54][55][56][57]. Conversely, a minor number of trials assessed the study of other polyphenol-rich foods on different outcomes, although evidence supports the positive role of other polyphenol-rich foods on markers of human health [58][59][60][61][62][63].…”

Review of botanical characterization, growth preferences, climatic adaptation and human health effects of Ericaceae and Empetraceae wild dwarf shrub berries in boreal, alpine and arctic areas

“…Cranberry contains high quantities of phenolic compounds, and extracts can prevent atherosclerosis, restore blood vessel elasticity, eliminate eye fatigue and improve eyesight; moreover, there is considerable evidence that they can prevent and treat cancer and strengthen the function of the heart. V. oxycoccos, like V. vitis-idaea, also is effective in the treatment of urinary tract infections [180][181][182][183].…”