Bilberry Extracts Show Benefits for Colitis
Lee Swanson
A study with lab animals found that an extract from bilberry was associated with reductions in the secretion of inflammatory markers in the colon, with the extract outperforming pure bilberries, according to findings by the Universities of Wurzburg, Regensburg and Zurich.
Lead researcher of the study, Professor Gerhard Rogler from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital of Zurich, said that while there are a number of guidelines for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, some patients with mild to moderate colitis do not respond sufficiently to treatments like 5-aminosalicyclic acid or steroids.
"Bilberries could be an additional nutritional approach for mild to moderate colitis that helps to avoid immunosuppression with the respective side-effects, such as infections, in those patients," he said.
Using bilberry extracts, the researchers tested the effects on animal models of acute and chronic colitis.
The histological scores—a measure of the microscopic structure of the animals’ tissue—showed a reduction of almost 50% when animals were fed the bilberry extract containing one percent anthocyanins. Higher histological scores are said to represent several changes caused by the inflammatory process such as thickening of the wall of the intestine and infiltration of gut tissue by immune cells.
"In this animal model we assessed the histological score, which is also the most valid parameter in humans. Therefore, the animal model is a good predictor, but nevertheless we need to determine the effect in colitis patients," said Professor Rogler.
Professor Rogler confirmed that work was continuing in the area with an open label clinical trial with 20 patients with mild to moderate colitis.
"Furthermore, we are investigating the molecular effects, such as signal transduction, in mucosal cells," said Professor Rogler. "For further development it will be necessary to understand the action of bilberries on a molecular level."