Jan. 22, 2010 –
Scientists are reporting
the first evidence from human research that blueberries improve memory.
They said the study
establishes a basis for comprehensive human clinical trials to determine
whether blueberries really deserve their growing reputation as a memory
enhancer.
A report on the study
appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Robert Krikorian and
colleagues point out that previous studies in laboratory animals suggest that
eating blueberries may help boost memory in the aged. Until now, however, there
had been little scientific work aimed at testing the effect of blueberry
supplementation on memory in people.
In the study, one group of
volunteers in their 70s with early memory decline drank the equivalent of 2 to
2 l/2 cups of a commercially available blueberry juice every day for two
months. A control group drank a beverage without blueberry juice. The blueberry
juice group showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests, the
scientists say.
"These preliminary memory
findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with
blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration,"
said the report.
The
research involved scientists from the University of Cincinnati, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian department of agriculture.
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