By Diane Fulton, PhD

Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), also known as partridgeberries or mountain cranberries, are a hardy, low-growing evergreen shrub that grows in northern climates.

The berries are small, bright red, and tart, and contain powerful polyphenols (eg, anthocyanins, resveratrol, and quercetin), vitamins, minerals, free amino acids, and omega-3 fatty acids. 

Due to their antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting properties, lingonberries are gaining increasing attention as a superfood. Lingonberries’ most important benefits include fighting a variety of chronic conditions—from cancers and obesity to heart disease, oxidative stress, and viral infections. Here are eight reasons why you should give lingonberries a try this summer.

Protect Heart Health

A 2017 in vitro study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that lingonberries anthocyanins protected cardiac cells from oxidative-stress-induced apoptosis. Study authors wrote, “Lingonberries contain very high levels of anthocyanins, which are the red pigments that give all berries their bright red, blue, or purple colors.

In addition to containing more anthocyanins per gram of fresh weight than other commonly consumed berries, lingonberries also contain other polyphenols, including quercetin, glycosides, kaempferol glycosides, resveratrol, phenolic acids, and proanthocyanidins…Dietary changes that increase the consumption of antioxidant-rich berries like lingonberries may be beneficial in disease states hallmarked by oxidative stress.”¹

In an experimental rat model examining high blood pressure, long-term treatment with lingonberry juice lowered blood pressure and improved vascular function due to the berry’s anti-inflammatory properties.² Similarly, according to an eight-week animal model, eating lingonberries resulted in decreased triglyceride levels, improved gut microbiome, and reduced atherosclerosis.³

A 2021 study published in Food & Function found that both lingonberry and blackberry leaves showed strong cardioprotective properties and significantly lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Results were comparable to lovastatin—a cholesterol-lowering drug.⁴

In vitro research published in Nutrients suggested that lingonberries’ antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help manage obesity and corresponding inflammation, which can lead to endothelial dysfunction—a coronary artery disease characterized by narrowing of the arteries and interrupted blood flow to the heart.

Study authors concluded, “These results suggest that consuming polyphenol-rich lingonberry fruit may help prevent and treat obesity and endothelial dysfunction due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. Thus, lingonberries could be a dietary recommendation for preventing and managing obesity and cardiovascular complications…”⁵

Fight Cancers

Lingonberry leaves and fruits are linked to a range of bioactivities due to phenolic compounds, such as proanthocyanidin and quercetin. A 2020 study published in the journal Antioxidants examined lingonberries crude dry extracts against cancer cell lines and found both anticancer and antioxidant activity.

Researchers concluded, “Quercetin and proanthocyanidins can be regarded as markers of antioxidant and anticancer activities of extracts of lingonberry leaves and fruits. These lingonberry compounds might be beneficial as promising chemo-active agents for alternative novel phyto-preparations and nutraceutical products.”⁶

Building on that research, a 2022 study found that lingonberry extract inhibited the proliferation of liver cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner.

Study authors noted, “This study demonstrates that lingonberry extract rich in polyphenols had different degrees of inhibitory effects on liver, colon, and breast cancer cells, with the strongest effect on the proliferation of [liver cancer] cells…Phenolic acids and flavonoids in berries can penetrate the cell membrane of cancer cells, producing a strong antiproliferative effect.”⁷

A systematic review of ten lingonberries and twenty-one bilberry in vitro studies found potent inhibition of colorectal cancer cell growth and tumor formation. Proanthocyanidins—particularly high in blueberries and lingonberries—showed the strongest ability to kill human colorectal cancer cells.^{8 9}

Protect Your Brain

Forty healthy older adults drank a mixed berry beverage (150 g blueberries, 50 g blackcurrant, 50 g elderberry, 50 g lingonberries, 50 g strawberry, and 100 g tomatoes), or a control beverage with no fiber or polyphenols.

The berry intervention reduced total and LDL cholesterol, lowered glucose and insulin concentrations, and improved memory test performance compared to the baseline and control beverage. Berries showed preventive potential for Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline.

Study authors reported, “There are several underlying mechanisms whereby berries potentially may elicit metabolic and cognitive health effects…After ingestion, polyphenols are present in the circulation mainly as polyphenol metabolites. In human blood brain barrier models, both anthocyanins and flavonols have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier and can be found in various brain regions important for learning and memory…In addition, substantial parts of the ingested polyphenols are not absorbed into the circulation but instead, like dietary fiber, pass to the colon.

In the colon, polyphenols are metabolized to other compounds, such as phenolic acids, and the metabolites may be absorbed into the circulation, and may enter the brain.

Further, polyphenols and/or their metabolites have been shown to interfere with the gut microbiota composition and metabolism, and may modulate release of bacterial metabolites, such as short chain fatty acids. Consequently, polyphenols entering the gut can be suggested to promote benefits on metabolism and brain functions through promoting a more favorable gut flora and/or release of bacterial metabolites.”¹⁰

In a systematic review examining the effects of blueberries and lingonberries in neurotoxicity and brain inflammation, both berries combated reactive oxygen species and showed significant neuroprotective abilities and benefits for brain aging. Surprisingly, the leaves have a much higher antioxidant capacity than the fruits.¹¹

In an in vitro oxygen-glucose deprived injury rat model, lingonberries significantly protected the brain by suppressing the inflammatory biomarkers in primary neurons and modulating key proteins following hypoxic injury—when oxygen is lacking in the brain (ie following stroke).¹²

Mediate Oxidative Stress

In a study of lingonberry polyphenols, the anthocyanins and flavanols scavenged reactive oxygen species and inhibited cellular death—demonstrating their ability to prevent and ameliorate oxidative stress and protect cells. Researchers concluded, “The current study suggests that partridgeberry has numerous potential health implications in both prevention and amelioration of various diseases involving oxidative stress.”¹³

In a mice model, a fourteen-day dose of lingonberry extract prevented acute toxicity from gamma radiation, indicating that lingonberry anthocyanins have immune-stimulatory potential against oxidative stress and radiation-induced illnesses.¹⁴

Through in vitro analysis, total phenolics and flavonoids in lingonberry extracts were slightly higher than those in blueberry extracts but blueberries bested lingonberries in anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity. Both berries were effective against oxidative-stress-related diseases, such as cancer, heart, neurological and kidney diseases, and arthritis.^{15 16}

Counteract Obesity

Dietary berry fruits—blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, mulberries, lingonberries, blackberries, black chokeberries, elderberries, bilberries, grape, blackcurrants, jaboticabas, red bayberries, sea-buckthorns, goldenberries, and goji berries—were found to counteract obesity or obesity-associated complications based on animal experiments and human studies. 

Researchers wrote, “Generally, the bioactive compounds present in berry fruits demonstrated great potential to prevent the development of overweight, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and obesity-associated inflammation…It could be concluded that ingestion of berries or berry extracts promise to enhance insulin sensitivity, ameliorate obesity-induced inflammation, improve lipid profile, and lower the risks of cardiovascular disease.”¹⁷

In a 2022 animal study, mice fed whole lingonberries showed fewer atherosclerotic plaques, while mice fed the lingonberry fiber fraction had the highest caecal butyric acid—an indicator of gut health. All groups fed lingonberry diets—fiber or berries—had improved plasma lipid profiles.¹⁸

Prevent Diabetes

In an obese murine model, mice ate a low-fat, high-fat, or lingonberry-supplemented high-fat diet (eg soybean oil) for six weeks. Lingonberries prevented the high-fat diet induced adverse changes in both blood cholesterol and glucose levels and had a moderate effect on weight and visceral fat gain—demonstrating its obesity-fighting ability and prevention of comorbidities, such as Type 2 diabetes.

Researchers wrote, “Diet has an important role in the prevention and treatment of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other obesity-related diseases. Diets containing plenty of polyphenol-rich vegetables have been shown to lower the risk of obesity-related comorbidities. Berries are specifically rich in various polyphenols.

Diets containing berries are associated with lowered risk of Type 2 diabetes, likely due to the flavonoids, anthocyanidins, or other polyphenols present in berries…The results of this study encourage evaluation of lingonberries as a part of healthy diet against obesity and its comorbidities.”¹⁹

In a murine study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, obese and insulin-resistant mice fed three different lingonberry extract doses—125, 250, and 500?milligrams per kilograms (mg/kg) for eight weeks—resulted in a significant decrease in glycemia and insulin levels (Type 2 diabetes markers) in a dose-related way.²⁰

Prevent Infections and Viruses

According to a 2017 study published in the International Journal of Dentistry, fermented lingonberry juice exerted a positive response in Candida glabrata—the second most common yeast infection—by expressing proteins related to oxidative stress and maintaining cell wall integrity in vitro.²¹ 

The extracts of all tested berry fruits, particularly bilberry, strawberry, and lingonberry, strongly inhibited coxsackie virus, flu viruses, and H3N2, confirming their antiviral properties.

Study authors concluded, “The results reveal that the total extracts of all tested berry fruits inhibit the replication of CV-B1 and influenza A virus. CV-B1 is inhibited to the highest degree by both bilberry and strawberry, as well as by lingonberry total extracts, and influenza A by bilberry and strawberry extracts. Anthocyanin fractions of all wild berries strongly inhibit the replication of influenza virus A/H3N2. Given the obtained results, it is concluded that wild berry species are a valuable resource of antiviral substances and the present study should serve as a basis for further detailed research on the matter.”²²

In a 2019 comparison study of lingonberries and cranberries, an extract of lingonberries contained more polyphenols than cranberries but both effectively decreased biofilm formation and oral streptococci activities to prevent dental caries (cavities).²³

Promote Longevity and Healthy Aging with Lingonberries

According to a 2021 review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, eating lingonberries showed a positive influence on healthy aging and longevity. Researchers wrote, “Berries, especially members of the Ericaceae family, are among the best dietary sources of bioactive compounds with beneficial health effects.

The popular berries are in the genus Vaccinium, such as bilberry, cranberry, and blueberry…Fresh lingonberry fruit is the best source of bioactive compounds and antioxidants, but they are not available on the market all year round. Therefore, the consumption of dried berries, which by removing the moisture makes the skin and pulp concentrated and increases the antioxidant levels in each gram of product, in the form of teas or snacks, could be part of a healthy lifestyle.”²⁴

In a 2019 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial examining the effect of lingonberry and amla fruit extract (LAE) on several skin conditions, significant dose-dependent improvements were observed in skin elasticity, thickness, hydration, and the degree of wrinkles. According to the authors, “Our findings indicated that LAE exerted strong beneficial effects on the skin. Because various skin conditions were improved by oral intake of LAE, the combination extract may act as a potential anti-aging agent by inhibiting the weakening of the skin structure caused by aging.”²⁵

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Well Being Journal adapted the above excerpt from the previously published original at greenmedinfo.com titled “Love Berries? 10 Reasons Why You Should Try Lingonberries,” February 21, 2023.

References available at the following website address:

https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/love-berries-10-reasons-why-you-should-try-lingonberries