Wild blueberry (poly)phenols can improve vascular function and cognitive performance in healthy older individuals: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Wood E, Hein S, Mesnage R, Fernandes F, Abhayaratne N, Xu Y, Zhang Z, Bell L, Williams C, Rodriguez-Mateos A

The American journal of clinical nutrition · June 1, 2023

Evidence suggests that the intake of blueberry (poly)phenols is associated with improvements in vascular function and cognitive performance. Whether these cognitive effects are linked to increases in cerebral and vascular blood flow or changes in the gut microbiota is currently unknown. A double-blind, parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted in 61 healthy older individuals aged 65-80 y. Participants received either 26 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry (WBB) powder (302 mg anthocyanins) or a matched placebo (0 mg anthocyanins). Endothelial function measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), cognitive function, arterial stiffness, blood pressure (BP), cerebral blood flow (CBF), gut microbiome, and blood parameters were measured at baseline and 12 wk following daily consumption. A significant increase in FMD and reduction in 24 h ambulatory systolic BP were found in the WBB group compared with the placebo group. Enhanced immediate recall on the auditory verbal learning task, alongside better accuracy on a task-switch task was also found following WBB treatment compared with placebo. Daily intake of WBB powder improves vascular and cognitive function and decreases 24 h ambulatory systolic BP in healthy older individuals.

PMID: 36972800 · DOI: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.03.017