“Superfood potential”: Cardiovascular health benefits highlighted in lingonberry juice study

07 Jan 2020 --- An experimental study from the University of Helsinki, Finland, has found that long-term consumption of lingonberry juice (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) can help lower elevated blood pressure and low-grade inflammation, which has been linked to hypertension and excess salt intake. This research comes as studies continue to point to how consuming polyphenol-rich foods can exert beneficial effects on cardiovascular health.

“As far as we know, this was the first study of the effects of lingonberry products on blood pressure, hypertension and arterial function. The study gives a good background for initiating clinical studies with lingonberry products. Lingonberry juice seems to be a good nutritional factor in healthy diet promoting cardiovascular health and we were very surprised that it was so effective,” the study’s author Anne Kivimäki, MSc in Food Science, University of Helsinki, tells NutritionInsight.

In her doctoral dissertation, Kivimäki set out to determine whether cranberry, blackcurrant and lingonberry juice could affect the development of vascular dysfunction, high blood pressure and low-grade inflammation. Kivimäki also explored how lingonberry juice can influence kidney function and inflammation in a salt-loaded rat model. 

The lingonberry fruit is native to boreal forests and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

For eight to ten weeks, the study investigated the effects of cold-pressed lingonberry juice, cranberry juice and blackcurrant juice on genetically hypertensive rats. Kivimäki found that lingonberry juice was shown to enhance vascular function and reduce systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure. In addition, lingonberry displayed anti-inflammatory and anti-atherothrombotic effects. 

“In our study, we used only cold-compressed juice dosed ad libitum. However, raw, dried or powdered lingonberries are considered healthy as well,” Kivimäki highlights. She maintains that lingonberry juice is no substitute for medication, but it is a good dietary supplement. However, straight conclusions about the effects of other types of lingonberry products exceeded the scope of her research.

Lingonberry and other polyphenols
The thesis highlights that the lingonberry is the most high-yielding forest berry in Finland. According to the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare database, lingonberry contains energy amounting to approximately 56 kcal per 100 g. Per 100 g, lingonberries contain 2.6 g of fiber and 8.2 g of sugar, most of which are fructose and glucose. It is also rich in vitamin E while presenting A-, B- and K-group vitamins, as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Due to these health-boosting properties, Kivimäki eyes lingonberry as a “real superfood” for the future nutrition industry. She advocates for innovative lingonberry products and is looking for partners to collaborate with in the near future.

To see the research conducted on the berry fruit continued, Kivimäki encourages other scientists to do more research on the cardiovascular effects of lingonberries. She states that she herself will also continue research on lingonberries and cardiovascular effects. While the juice lowered already elevated blood pressure of hypertensive rats, it was not able to prevent the strong genetic increase of blood pressure of young spontaneously hypertensive rats. Further studies are needed to clarify the effect of dose and to exclude methodological errors of blood pressure measurement of the younger rats, she affirms. 

“We need more studies to draw further conclusions. These experimental findings need evidence from comparative clinical studies on healthy individuals with slightly elevated blood pressure who, at this point, have been given nutritional and lifestyle guidance instead of drug therapy,” she says. 

Additionally, previous research has also demonstrated the heart health boosting qualities, such as from the polyphenols present in olives and pomegranates, apples and coffee cherries. As the demand for natural ingredients in health-boosters rises, scientists are bound to continue to conduct research within this space with companies catering to such consumer preferences.      

By Anni Schleicher