Permitted health claims for Vitamin C include:

• Vitamin C contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress
• Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system
• Vitamin C contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system
• Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels
• Vitamin C contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism
  

The table below shows that the fresh haskap berries along with oranges are considered to be Vitamin C high foods compared to other fruits.

Pronounced an-tho-sigh-an-ins (from the Greek anthos, a flower, and kyanos, dark blue).

Anthocyanins in food are naturally occurring plant pigments that give fruit and vegetables their deep purple, blue and red colours.

Haskap berries contain up to four times more anthocyanins than blueberries.

Haskap berries have a unique anthocyanin profile, with one specific anthocyanin called cyanidin-3-glucoside, known as C3G, making up around 85% of the total anthocyanin content.

This image compares the green flesh of the blueberry with the deep crimson flesh of the haskap berry. It's the combination of blue skin and juicy red flesh that give haskaps such a high anthocyanin content.

Antioxidants in food are natural compounds found in certain foods, which can help our bodies fight the damage caused by potentially harmful chemicals called free radicals.

These free radicals are generated as a result of normal biological processes occurring every day in our cells. The mismatch of too many free radicals and too few antioxidants can lead to a state known as oxidative stress, when damage can occur to DNA and other structures in our cells.

Oxidative stress is believed to play a role in the development of many chronic diseases. It is thought antioxidants in our diet can help fight chronic oxidative stress associated with the development of these chronic diseases.

ANTIOXIDANT HIGH FOODS

Scientists have used different tests to measure the antioxidant content of haskap berries compared with other fruits. They found that haskap berries have up to three times the antioxidant content of blueberries, and higher levels than many other berries.

The graph below shows the antioxidant capacity of haskap berries compared to other fruits using the FRAP method:

Rupasinghe HPV, Yu LJ, Bhullar KS and Bors B. (2012). Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Can. J. Plant Sci., 92: 1311–1317

The nutritional content of the haskap berry has created significant scientific interest. Investment in high level research studies investigating nutrition, health benefits and farming have been commissioned by Haskapa at top universities.  

The first peer reviewed haskap berry pilot clinical study was published by a team from the University of Reading in the European Journal of Nutrition in December 2018.

For more details please see:

Bell L, Williams CM. A pilot dose-response study of the acute effects of haskap berry extract (Lonicera caerulea L.) on cognition, mood, and blood pressure in older adults. Eur J Nutr. 2019;58(8):3325-3334.

Haskapa is currently working with a UK university sports nutrition department to research the effect of haskap berry supplementation on exercise endurance.

Haskap berries contain a range of phytochemicals which have the potential to mitigate the development of exercise-induced oxidative stress and improve exercise performance.

Please email us at hello@haskapa.com and we will be happy to send you a detailed information sheet about anthocyanin and haskap berry research.

Bertoia ML, Rimm EB, Mukamal KJ, Hu FB, Willett WC, Cassidy A. Dietary flavonoid intake and weight maintenance: three prospective cohorts of 124,086 US men and women followed for up to 24 years. BMJ. 2016;352:i17. Published 2016 Jan 28. doi:10.1136/bmj.i17

Cassidy A, O'Reilly ÉJ, Kay C, et al. Habitual intake of flavonoid subclasses and incident hypertension in adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93(2):338-347. doi:10.3945/ajcn.110.006783

Cassidy A, Mukamal KJ, Liu L, Franz M, Eliassen AH, Rimm EB. High anthocyanin intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged women. Circulation. 2013;127(2):188-196. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.122408

Cassidy A, Rogers G, Peterson JJ, Dwyer JT, Lin H, Jacques PF. Higher dietary anthocyanin and flavonol intakes are associated with anti-inflammatory effects in a population of US adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102(1):172-181. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.108555

Cassidy A, Franz M, Rimm EB. Dietary flavonoid intake and incidence of erectile dysfunction. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;103(2):534-541. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.122010

Cassidy A, Bertoia M, Chiuve S, Flint A, Forman J, Rimm EB. Habitual intake of anthocyanins and flavanones and risk of cardiovascular disease in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;104(3):587-594. doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.133132

Devore EE, Kang JH, Breteler MM, Grodstein F. Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline. Ann Neurol. 2012;72(1):135-143. doi:10.1002/ana.23594

Grosso G, Micek A, Godos J, et al. Dietary Flavonoid and Lignan Intake and Mortality in Prospective Cohort Studies: Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2017;185(12):1304-1316. doi:10.1093/aje/kww207

Kim K, Vance TM, Chun OK. Greater flavonoid intake is associated with improved CVD risk factors in US adults. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(8):1481-1488. doi:10.1017/S0007114516000519

Kimble R, Keane KM, Lodge JK, Howatson G. Dietary intake of anthocyanins and risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59(18):3032-3043. doi:10.1080/10408398.2018.1509835

Rodriguez-Mateos A, Istas G, Boschek L, et al. Circulating Anthocyanin Metabolites Mediate Vascular Benefits of Blueberries: Insights From Randomized Controlled Trials, Metabolomics, and Nutrigenomics. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2019;74(7):967-976. doi:10.1093/gerona/glz047

Shishtar E, Rogers GT, Blumberg JB, Au R, Jacques PF. Long-term dietary flavonoid intake and risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020;112(2):343-353. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqaa079

Wedick NM, Pan A, Cassidy A, et al. Dietary flavonoid intakes and risk of type 2 diabetes in US men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;95(4):925-933. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.028894

Welch A, MacGregor A, Jennings A, Fairweather-Tait S, Spector T, Cassidy A. Habitual flavonoid intakes are positively associated with bone mineral density in women. J Bone Miner Res. 2012;27(9):1872-1878. doi:10.1002/jbmr.1649

PEER REVIEWED HASKAP BERRY RESEARCH PAPERS

Amararathna M, Hoskin DW, Rupasinghe HPV. Anthocyanin-rich haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) berry extracts reduce nitrosamine-induced DNA damage in human normal lung epithelial cells in vitro. Food Chem Toxicol. 2020;141:111404. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2020.111404

Bell L, Williams CM. A pilot dose-response study of the acute effects of haskap berry extract (Lonicera caerulea L.) on cognition, mood, and blood pressure in older adults. Eur J Nutr. 2019;58(8):3325-3334.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1877-9

Biswas D, Sarkar S, Silva A, D'Souza K, Kienesberger P, Rupasinghe HPV, & Pulinilkunnil T. Cyanidin-3-O-Glucoside Rich Extract From Haskap Berry Improves Glucose Homeostasis and Insulin Sensitivity in Diet-Induced Obese Mice. Canadian Journal of Diabetes. 2018 42.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjd.2018.08.169

Celli G.B., Ghanem A., Brookes MSL. (2014) Haskap berries (Lonicera caerulea L)- a critical review of antioxidant capacity and health related studies for potential value added products. Food Bioprocess Technol, published online 1^st April 2014

Gołba M, Sokół-Łętowska A, Kucharska AZ. Health Properties and Composition of Honeysuckle Berry Lonicera caerulea L. An Update on Recent Studies. Molecules. 2020;25(3):749. Published 2020 Feb 9. doi:10.3390/molecules25030749

Howatson G, Snaith GC, Kimble R, Cowper G, Keane KM. Improved Endurance Running Performance Following Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea L.) Ingestion. Nutrients. 2022; 14(4):780. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14040780

Kithma A B, De Silva H, Rupasinghe HPV. Polyphenols composition and anti-diabetic properties in vitro of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) berries in relation to cultivar and harvesting date. Journal Food Composition and Analysis. 2020;88:103402

Rupasinghe HPV, Yu LJ, Bhullar KS and Bors B. (2012). Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Can. J. Plant Sci., 92: 1311–1317

Rupasinghe, H P Vasantha & Yu, Li & B., K. & Bors, Bob. (2012). Short Communication: Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 92. 1311-1317. 10.4141/cjps2012-073.

Rupasinghe, H P Vasantha & Boehm, Mannfred & Sekhon, Satvir & Parmar, Indu & Bors, Bob & Jamieson, Andrew. (2015). Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Haskap Cultivars is Polyphenols-Dependent. Biomolecules. 2015. 1079-1098. 10.3390/biom5021079.

Rupasinghe, H.P.V., M.A. Boehm, S. Sekhon-Loodu, I. Parmar, B. Bors, A.R. Jamieson. 2015. Anti-inflammatory activity of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) cultivars is dependent on their polyphenol content. Biomolecules. 5:1079-1098.

Rupasinghe HPV, Arumuggam N, Amararathna M, De Silva ABKH. (2018) The potential health benefits of haskap (Lonicera caerulea): Role of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Journal of Functional Foods. 44. 24-39. 10.1016/j.jff.2018.02.023.

Wu, S., He, X., Wu, X., Qin, S., He, J., Zhang, S., & Hou, D.-X. (2015). Inhibitory effects of blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats: Crosstalk of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Journal of Functional Foods, 17, 514–523.

  

PEER REVIEWED EXERCISE NUTRITION RESEARCH PAPERS

Bowtell J, Kelly V. Fruit-Derived Polyphenol Supplementation for Athlete Recovery and Performance. Sports Med. 2019;49(Suppl 1):3-23. doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0998-x

Cook MD, Willems MET. Dietary Anthocyanins: A Review of the Exercise Performance Effects and Related Physiological Responses. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2019;29(3):322-330. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0088

Malaguti M, Angeloni C, Hrelia S. Polyphenols in exercise performance and prevention of exercise-induced muscle damage. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2013;2013:825928. doi:10.1155/2013/825928

Matsukawa T, Motojima H, Sato Y, Takahashi S, Villareal MO, Isoda H. Upregulation of skeletal muscle PGC-1α through the elevation of cyclic AMP levels by Cyanidin-3-glucoside enhances exercise performance. Sci Rep. 2017;7:44799. Published 2017 Mar 20. doi:10.1038/srep44799

Somerville V, Bringans C, Braakhuis A. Polyphenols and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [published correction appears in Sports Med. 2017 Aug;47(8):1601]. Sports Med. 2017;47(8):1589-1599. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0675-5