Bilberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus)

Bilberry has been valued for centuries as a nutritious food and a wild edible delicacy. The berries, best known as an edible fruit, are an ancient food in northern Europe.

In European herbal remedies, bilberry fruit preparations are now used to enhance poor micro-circulation, including eye conditions such as night-blindness and diabetic retinopathy.

helps in the treatment of varicose veins and atherosclerosis by improving blood circulation (increasing the ability of fluids and nourishment to pass through veins to capillaries)
promotes healthier eyes and vision
acts as antioxidant (free radical scavenger)
inhibits platelet aggregation
helps to relax the vascular smooth muscles and helps to reduce bruising
relieves inflammations (i.e. in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gum disease)

In France, bilberries have been prescribed since 1945 for diabetic patients, a major cause of blindness in diabetics.
In an Italian study, bilberry's flavonoids lowered cholesterol levels in the blood and improved circulation.
In animal studies, bilberry reduced and stabilized blood sugar levels.

Bilberries are high in flavonoids, which have antioxidant and disease-fighting properties and they help cells in the body resist and repair damage. The flavonoids found in bilberry provide the blue color of the berry. The bilberry flavonoids are called anthocyanosides, which were found to be the main active ingredients.

Bilberry flavonoids can increase certain enzymes and substances in the eyes that are crucial to good vision and eye function. Furthermore, anthocyanosides can increase circulation in the blood vessels in the eyes, and help these blood vessels repair and protect themselves. Specifically, research has shown that anthocyanosides help stabilize and protect a protein called collagen, which is a basic building block of veins, arteries, capillaries, and connective tissue. Particularly, anthocyanosides seem to work favorably in the tissues found in the retina, the back of the eye where major functions of vision take place.

Bilberry’s component anthocyanosides is an active blood sugar reducer.

Modern laboratory studies on bilberry fruit extracts have confirmed that bilberry produces a slight relaxation effect on vascular smooth muscles.

Extracts of the fruit have also been shown in laboratory experiments to inhibit enzymes such as elastase, which can cause the degradation of collagen. This can lead to a reduction in factors associated with inflammatory conditions such as atherosclerosis, pulmonary emphysema, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Results of clinical studies involving more than 700 patients with various conditions related to poor micro-circulation in cases of atherosclerosis, a tendency to bruising, hemorrhoids and varicose veins have shown that bilberry extracts help reduce damage from free radicals (antioxidant effects) and promote healthy circulation to the extremities.

Bilberry extracts help to keep atherosclerotic plaques from forming on the lining of the arteries by strengthening the collagen that makes up the arterial walls. This helps to keep the arteries flexible, which helps to normalize blood pressure.

CONSTITUENTS OF BILBERRY

Bioflavonoids containing anthocyanosides have been shown to have strong antioxidant properties

Tannins
Alkaloids
Twelve different phenolic acids
Three glycosides of quercetin, including quercitrin, isoquercitrin, and hyperoside
Vitamin B1
Vitamin C
Sugars pectins
other bio-active compounds

Supporting Research

Bomser J, Madhavi DL, Singletary K, Smith MA. In vitro anticancer activity of fruit extracts from Vaccinium species, Planta Medica 1996 Jun, 62(3):212-6.
Brown NA, et al. Nutrition supplements and the eye. Eye 1998, 12:127-33
Colantuoni A, Bertuglia S, Magistretti MJ, Donato L. Effects of Vaccinium Myrtillus anthocyanosides on arterial vasomotion. Arzneimittel-Forschung 1991 Sep, 41(9):905-9.
Cunio, L. Vaccinium myrtillus, Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism 1993, 5(4):81- 85.
Head KA. Natural therapies for ocular disorders, part two: cataracts and glaucoma. Alternative Medicine Review : A Journal of Clinical Therapeutic 2001 Apr, 6(2):141-66.
Lietti A, Cristoni A, Picci M. Studies on Vaccinium myrtillus anthocyanosides. I. Vasoprotective and antiinflammatory activity. Arzneimittel-Forschung 1976, 26(5):829-32.
Logan AC, Wong C.Chronic fatigue syndrome: oxidative stress and dietary modifications (bilberry). Alternative Medicine Review : A Journal of Clinical Therapeutic 2001 Oct, 6(5):450-9.
Morazzoni, P. and E. Bombvardelli. Vaccinium myrtillus L. Fitoterapia 1996, 67(1):3-29.
Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P. The effect of bilberry nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Alternative Medicine Review: A Journal of Clinical Therapeutic 2000 Apr, 5(2):164-73.

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