bilberry

Sarcosoma globosum (Pezizales, Ascomycota) is a rare and endangered fungus, and it is believed to be extinct in most central European countries. Known records of S. globosum in Lithuania reveal that it is situated on the south-western edge of a shrinking geographical distribution range in Europe. An assessment of the species' current habitat conditions and threats could enhance and provide new knowledge and guidelines to facilitate the efficient conservation of this threatened fungus and its habitats. The main aim of this study was to analyse the habitats and environmental conditions of S...

Presbyopia is a global problem with an estimated 1.3 billion patients worldwide. In the area of functional food applications, dietary supplements or herbs, there are very few reports describing the positive effects of their use. In the available literature, there is a lack of studies in humans as well as on an animal model of extracts containing, simultaneously, compounds from the polyphenol group (in particular, anthocyanins) and iridoids, so we undertook a study of the effects of a preparation composed of these compounds on a condition of the organ of vision...

Cancers of the reproductive organs, including prostate, bladder, ovarian, and cervical cancers, are considered the most common causes of death in both sexes worldwide. The genus Vaccinium L. (Ericaceae) comprises fleshy berry crop species, including cranberries, blueberries, lingonberries, bilberries, and bog bilberries, and are widely distributed in many countries. Flavonols, anthocyanins (ACNs), proanthocyanidins (PACs), and phenolic acids are the most bioactive compounds naturally found in Vaccinium berries and have been extensively used as anticancer agents...

A previous study on the encroachment of North American northern red oak Quercus rubra L. into the mesic Scots pine forest (in central Poland) revealed high abundances of seedlings and saplings under shrubs, with lower abundances in open areas or clumps of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus L. It was unclear whether the regeneration success of Q. rubra is enhanced by the presence of shrubs due to their "nurse effect", and how burying acorns of different sizes in soil or moss affects the survival of oak seeds and seedlings (a "burial effect")...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate microwave-assisted (MAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) for the recovery of polyphenols from blackcurrant and bilberry leaves and the preservation of their antioxidant activity. The extractions were carried out varying the solvent/solid (SS) ratio, temperature and time. During MAE, increasing the SS ratio increased the polyphenol concentration in the extracts from blackcurrant and bilberry leaves, while increasing the temperature had a positive effect only on bilberry polyphenols...

In March 2019, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and Finnish Food Authority started an outbreak investigation after a notification of food business operators' recall of frozen bilberries due to a norovirus finding. A retrospective search was conducted in the food and waterborne outbreak notification system to identify the notifications linked to norovirus and consumption of bilberries in January-March 2019. Five outbreaks were found in which norovirus GII or GII.17 had been detected in patient samples...

A highly stable "tannin-anthocyanin conjugated" trifunctional active intelligent film was developed by incorporating bilberry anthocyanins (BA) as an indicator and tannin acids (TA) as a co-pigment into a sodium alginate-carrageenan polysaccharide matrix (SC-BA/TA). The doping of TA conferred outstanding antioxidant (DPPH scavenging rate > 90%) and antibacterial properties to the film, particularly effective against S. aureus. The SC-BA/TA films effectively blocked UV rays (close to 0%, effectively impeding most UVA, as well as nearly all UVC and UVB) within the range of 200-320 nm...

Herbivory can be reduced by the production of defense compounds (secondary metabolites), but generally defenses are costly, and growth is prioritized over defense. While defense compounds may deter herbivory, nutrients may promote it. In a field study in boreal forest in Norway, we investigated how simulated herbivory affected concentrations of phenolics (generally a defense) and the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio in annual shoots of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), a deciduous clonal dwarf shrub whose vegetative and generative parts provide forage for many boreal forest animals...

Polyphenolic extracts from wild bilberries ( Vaccinium myrtillus L.) have shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but they are prone to degradation when exposed to environmental factors, limiting their use in biomedical applications. To overcome this issue, this study proposed the embedding of wild bilberry fruit ethanolic extracts in pristine mesoporous silica functionalized with organic groups (mercaptopropyl and propionic acid), as well as coated with fucoidan, a biopolymer. Herein, we report a stability study of free and incorporated extracts in mesoporous silica-type supports in high-humidity atmospheres at 40 °C up to 28 days, using HPLC analysis, thermal analysis, and radical scavenging activity determination...

Nowadays, unprecedented health challenges are urging novel solutions to address antimicrobial resistance as multidrug-resistant strains of bacteria, yeasts and moulds are emerging. Such microorganisms can cause food and feed spoilage, food poisoning and even more severe diseases, resulting in human death. In order to overcome this phenomenon, it is essential to identify novel antimicrobials that are naturally occurring, biologically effective and increasingly safe for human use. The development of gemmotherapy extracts (GTEs) using plant parts such as buds and young shoots has emerged as a novel approach to treat/prevent human conditions due to their associated antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and/or antimicrobial properties that all require careful evaluations...

Bog bilberry ( Vaccinium uliginosum L.) is a wild-growing berry native to all circumboreal regions. There is however a significant discrepancy in the uses of bog bilberry fruits around the world. There exists a strong prejudice against the use of these berries in many European countries as well as a few incidences of poisoning reported between 1906 and 1944. In Asia and North America, this fear is completely absent from the local knowledge and the bog bilberry is valued as an excellent food and medicinal plant...

The study aims to investigate the impact of dietary bilberry leaves on the performance, health status, and gut microbiota of broilers reared in both thermoneutral conditions and under heat stress. Sixty Cobb 500 broiler chicks were divided into two groups (C-TN, BL-TN) and reared in thermoneutral conditions for the first trial. For the second trial, two other groups (C-HS and BL-HS) were reared in heat stress (32 °C), with 30 chickens in each group. The experimental diets were supplemented with 1% bilberry leaves compared to the control diets...

This investigation aimed to assess the chemical composition and biological activities of bog bilberry ( Vaccinium uliginosum L.) leaves. Hydroethanolic extracts were obtained using four extraction techniques: one conventional (CE) and three alternative methods; ultrasound (UAE), microwave (MAE) and high-pressure (HPE) extractions. Spectrophotometric analysis was conducted to determine their chemical content, including the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Furthermore, their antioxidative and antimicrobial properties were evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is one of the most important economic and natural resources in Northern Europe. Despite its importance, the endophytic fungal community of the fruits has rarely been investigated. Biogeographic patterns and determinants of the fungal diversity in the bilberry fruit are poorly understood, albeit fungal endophytes can have a close relationship with the host plants. Here, we investigated the effect of climatic regions, and their weather conditions within growth season and soil properties on fungal endophytic communities of bilberry fruits collected from northern and southern regions of Finland using high-throughput sequencing technology targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 ribosomal DNA region for fungi...

Photoaging is a process related to an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Polyphenols can scavenge free radicals in the body, which can delay skin aging. Therefore, our work aimed to prepare a biologically active extract from dry fruits of Vaccinium myrtillus or Vaccinium corymbosum and use it for the preparation of hydrogels for topical application. Therefore, eight different extracts (using V. myrtillus and V. corymbosum and different extraction mixtures: methanol, methanol-water 1:1, water, acetone-water 1:1) were prepared and their phytochemical (total polyphenolic content, total flavonoid content, total anthocyanin content) and biological properties (antioxidant, anti-hyaluronidase, and anti-tyrosinase activity) were assessed...

Economic loss due to fish spoilage exceeds 25 billion euros every year. Accurate and real-time monitoring of the freshness of fish can effectively cut down economic loss and food wastage. In this study, a dual-functional hydrogel based on sodium alginate-co-pigment complex with volatile antibacterial and intelligent indication was prepared and characterized. The characterization results indicated that the sodium alginate-co-pigment complex successfully improved the stability and color development ability of blueberry anthocyanins and bilberry anthocyanins at different temperatures and pH...

Exercise-induced muscle damage is common in athletes and recreational exercisers and can lead to muscle soreness, weakness, and impaired muscle function. The precise mechanisms are unclear but oxidative stress and inflammation are thought to play a role. (Poly)phenols are substances abundant in Vaccinium berries that have been suggested to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that could help improve exercise performance and/or recovery from exercise. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the benefits of Vaccinium berry supplementation on exercise performance and recovery, as well as on exercise-induced oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers in healthy individuals...

Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) produces tiny red berries that are tart and nutty in flavour. It grows widely in the circumpolar region, including Scandinavia, northern parts of Eurasia, Alaska, and Canada. Although cultivation is currently limited, the plant has a long history of cultural use among indigenous communities. Given its potential as a food source, genomic resources for lingonberry are significantly lacking. To advance genomic knowledge, the genomes for two subspecies of lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea ssp...

How organisms obtain energy to survive and reproduce is fundamental to ecology, yet researchers use theoretical concepts represented by simplified models to estimate diet and predict community interactions. Such simplistic models can sometimes limit our understanding of ecological principles. We used a polyphagous species with a wide distribution, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), to illustrate how disparate theoretical frameworks in ecology can affect conclusions regarding ecological communities. We used stable isotope measurements (δ13 C, δ15 N) from hairs of individually monitored bears in Sweden and Bayesian mixing models to estimate dietary proportions of ants, moose, and three berry species to compare to other brown bear populations...

The limited mechanical performance and responsiveness of protein-based smart packaging materials have hindered their development. To address these issues, this study prepared a pH-responsive smart film by introducing dialdehyde carboxylated cellulose nanofibers (DCCNFs) as the cross-linking agent capable of covalently reacting with proteins, and bilberry extract (BE) as a pH-responsive indicator into pea protein isolate (PPI) matrix. The results demonstrated that adding DCCNF and BE enhanced the PPI film's thermal stability, density, and UV barrier properties...