(P26-052-25) Bioactive and Cardiovascular Disease Protective Properties of Wild Blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the in vivo antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and CVD protective properties of wild blueberry polyphenolic extracts.

Methods: Fifty (50), four-week male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were randomly assigned to one of six groups with 8 rats per treatment group after a one-week period of acclimatization. The six subgroups were designated as: normal fat no blueberry (NFNB), normal fat low blueberry (4% NFHB), normal fat high blueberry (8 % NFHB), high fat no blueberry (HFNB), high fat low blueberry (4% HFLB) and high fat high blueberry (8% HFHB). The rats were placed on the intervention diets for a period of 8 weeks during which body weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and feed consumption were measured weekly. Blood pressure (BP) measurements were done using the tail-cuff plethysmography method. At the end of the feeding regimen, the animals were euthanized via inhalation of CO₂ and death was confirmed by cardiac puncture. Inflammatory and blood lipid markers including oxidized LDL (oxLDL), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein determination (CRP) and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations in plasma samples were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: The mean body weights of the rats were found to range from 272 – 290g. There was a positive correlation between food intake and weight gain. This suggests that the rats exhibited high feed conversion efficiency. The results showed that blueberry extract exhibited anti-hypertensive activity in the SHRs with feed substitutions of 4% and 8% when compared to the control groups, and hence, a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in BPs. The in vivo anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities demonstrated that blueberries exhibited a significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentration of TC, CRP, IL-6, and OxLDL at 4% and 8% feed substitutions when compared to the control groups indicating a lower risk of inflammation and management of oxidative stress.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that wild blueberries have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive effects. They also protect against CVD. It is suggested that this study be translated in a future human clinical trial.

Funding Sources: Funding research was provided by the George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, USA.