BLUEBERRY POWDER
Product No. P02105
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium (a genus which also includes cranberries and bilberries) with dark purple/blue berries. They are perennial. Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as 'blueberries'. The genus Vaccinium has a circumpolar distribution with species in North America, Europe and Asia.
Many commercially sold species whose English common names include 'blueberry' are currently classified in section Cyanococcus of the genus Vaccinium and come predominantly from North America. Many North American native species of blueberries are now also commercially grown in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia, New Zealand and South American countries.
They are usually erect but sometimes prostrate shrubs varying in size from 10cm to 4m tall. The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen, and the flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red.
The fruit is a berry 5–16 millimetres diameter with a flared crown at the end; they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally indigo when ripe. They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season: fruiting times are affected by local conditions such as altitude and latitude, so the height of the crop can vary from May to August depending upon these conditions.
Blueberries have a diverse range of micronutrients, with notably high levels (relative to respective Dietary Reference Intakes) of the essential dietary mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fibre. Especially in wild species, blueberries contain anthocyanins, other antioxidant pigments and various phytochemicals possibly playing a role in reducing risks of some diseases.
It is widely known that blueberries have good health benefits. Rich in antioxidants and anthocyanins, consumption of blueberries is associated with improvement of ischemic stroke outcomes and antioxidant capacity in blood plasma after consumption.
Researchers have shown that blueberry anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, flavonols, and tannins inhibit mechanisms of cancer cell development and inflammation in vitro. Similar to red grape, some blueberry species contain in their skins significant levels of resveratrol, a phytochemical.
It is believed the consumption of blueberries (and similar berry fruits including cranberries) may alleviate the cognitive decline occurring in Alzheimer's disease and other conditions of ageing.
Other animal studies found that blueberry consumption lowered cholesterol and total blood lipid levels, possibly affecting symptoms of heart disease. Additional research showed that blueberry consumption in rats altered glycosaminoglycans which are vascular cell components affecting control of blood pressure.
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