Vaccinium arctostaphylos or Caucasian whortleberry is a species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color. It is native to Western Asia (Iran and Turkey), the Caucasus (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Russia), and Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria).[1]

Vaccinium arctostaphylos plant

Medicinal effects

In a study on 50 hyperlipidaemic adult patients, an extract of the fruit of Vaccinium arctostaphylos was found to have beneficial effects on serum lipid profile and oxidative stress.[2] Each medicinal capsule contained 45 ± 2 mg of anthocyanins. The authors suggest that the effects may be due to the anthocyanin content of the fruit.

References

  1. ^ "sp". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  2. ^ Soltani, Rasool; Hakimi, Mustafa; Asgary, Sedigheh; Ghanadian, Syed Mustafa; Keshvari, Mahtab; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal (2014). "Evaluation of the Effects of Vaccinium arctostaphylos L. Fruit Extract on Serum Lipids and hs-CRP Levels and Oxidative Stress in Adult Patients with Hyperlipidemia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014: 217451. doi:10.1155/2014/217451. PMC 3920853. PMID 24587807.

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