An investigation carried out by a multidisciplinary team of UC scientists concluded that "the continued consumption of blueberries, in daily doses of about 240 grams, has a strong impact on the liver, providing important clues to guide" its "healthy and safe consumption" says UC.

The discovery, already published in the journal Pharmaceutics, occurred during a study that aims to evaluate the possible beneficial effects of cranberry juice in the context of prediabetes. Considering the enriched phytochemical composition of cranberry, in a diversity of bioactive compounds that "seem to be capable of conferring innumerable protective effects under different conditions, it seemed [the researchers] very pertinent to also perceive the impact of the consumption of this 'superfood' in the long term. term, in good condition ”, explained the coordinators of the study, Flávio Reis and Sofia Viana, of the Institute of Clinical and Biomedical Research of Coimbra (iCBR), of the Faculty of Medicine, quoted by the UC.

To do this, the researchers evaluated a set of metabolic parameters, with emphasis on the liver, and particularly on mitochondrial functions, in adult rats subjected for 14 weeks to a regular consumption of natural cranberry juice (equivalent in a man to a glass and means, medium). of juice per day). It was observed that in prediabetic rats "there was protection against hepatic steatosis (fat accumulation in the liver) and an enormous impact at the level of the mitochondria", says Sara Nunes, a doctoral student in the scope of this project. .

In the case of healthy rats, Sara Nunes points out, it was found “that the consumption of cranberry juice had no impact on the metabolic profile and there were no changes at the intestinal level. However, the liver impact was surprising, particularly in mitochondrial function, similar to the effect of a high calorie diet ”. The results observed in healthy rats suggest that the continued consumption of blueberries forces a metabolic reprogramming, the consequences (beneficial or harmful) of which remain unclear.