Elderberry Liquid Extract Shown Active Against Flu Viruses

The antimicrobial activity of Rubini was demonstrated in liquid-cultured strains of pathogenic bacteria (Branhamella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pyogenes) often found in association with upper respiratory tract infections.

3/14/2011 --- Black elderberries (Sambucus nigra L.) are one of the oldest and most regarded botanical medicines traditionally used to alleviate coughs and symptoms of the common cold and influenza (Blochwich, 2010).

Early in 2011, their potential therapeutic application was advanced by researchers at Justus-Liebig University in Geissen, Germany who showed that a proprietary liquid extract of the berries (Rubini, BerryPharma AG) inhibits the growth of clinically-relevant influenza A and B viruses and bacteria associated with upper respiratory tract infections. Both the bacterial strains and flu viruses were clinical isolates from human patients (Krawitz et al., 2011).

The extract was provided by BerryPharma AG, a leading European supplier of elderberry extracts. Using cultivated black elderberries of the “Haschberg” variety grown in Austria, Rubini is prepared by semipermeable membrane filtration, which allows substances to be separated in accordance with their molecular weights. The extract is standardized by HPLC to contain a minimum of 3.2% anthocyanins.

The antimicrobial activity of Rubini was demonstrated in liquid-cultured strains of pathogenic bacteria (Branhamella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pyogenes) often found in association with upper respiratory tract infections. Added to the cultures at a concentration of 10%, the extract inhibited their growth by greater than 70%, and from a concentration of 20% by over 99%.

At a low concentration (1:100 dilution), safe to normal cells, Rubini inhibited the growth of a highly pathogenic avian type A influenza virus (A/Thailand/KAN-1/2004/H5N1) and a type B influenza virus (B/Massachusetts/71). Further tests showed that when the extract was used to treat cultures of the viruses and normal cells pre-exposed to the extract, the infectivity of the viruses was reduced. The results suggest that the extract blocks cell factors which allow the viruses to propagate.

The studies on the antiviral and antimicrobial activity of the extract were a collaborative investigation by researchers at the Institute for Medical Virology and the Institute for Medical Microbiology at Justus-Liebig University in Geissen, Germany. The results were published February 25th, 2011 in the journal, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Provisional copies of the Abstract and the Journal Article are already available online at BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.