THE LINGONBERRY IS CONFIRMED AS AN EXCELLENT ANTIOXIDANT

Lingonberry is a species of cranberry with outstanding properties in the prevention of urinary tract infections. Now, a study developed by a team of researchers has shown in an in-vivo experiment with rodents that an extract of this fruit prevents the decline in levels of glutathione, a tripeptide with antioxidant action.

Before analyzing lingonberry in rats, the authors of the study determined its polyphenolic content; the results showed that the extract contained procyanidins B1, B2 and A2, along with other flavanols, in addition to large concentrations of aglycones, p-coumaric acid and quercetin. Likewise, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside was confirmed as its main anthocyanin, and ten anthocyanins were detected for the first time in lingonberry.

To carry out the research properly, the rodents were divided into five groups: the first, which acted as a control group, received a diet low in fat, free of cholesterol; the second, a diet rich in fats and cholesterol, while the rest were given the same diet as this one, supplementing it with lingonberry doses of 41.7, 83.3 and 250 mg per 100 g of diet.

Compared to the first two groups, the diet of the last three showed a significant protective action at the antioxidant level, whose total index fell by around 25 percent, regardless of the dose. At the level of antioxidant effect in-vivo, the researchers pointed out that all the doses of lingonberry used stimulated the protective antioxidant effects, noting that the intermediate dose was revealed as the best option.