Haskap berry is a fruit whose healing properties have been appreciated in the folk medicine of northern Russia, China and Japan for centuries. In Poland, the Kamchatka berry is still little known, but this is changing because the cultivation of these fruits in our country is more and more frequent. Kamchatka berry is a treasury of antioxidants, so it can be used as a protective agent, among others. against diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. What is the healing effect of haskap berries?

Kamchatka berry: what is it?

Honeysuckle berryis the fruit of a tree named Kamchatka honeysuckle, a variety of blue honeysuckle ( Lonicera caerulea L. ).Propertieshas been appreciated and used in folk medicine of northern Russia, China and Japan for centuries.

The fruits are even called the "elixir of life" by the indigenous Ainu people of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Worth knowing

Kamchatka berry: cultivation

The natural habitat of the Kamchatka berry is Northeast Asia. This plant is grown in cooler regions of northern Europe, also in Poland.

Kamchatka berry: properties

Haskap berry fruits are used in folk medicine as a raw material:

  • strengthening,
  • with the effect of lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart attack,
  • preventing anemia,
  • slowing the development of glaucoma,
  • as an antimalarial drug, helpful in diseases of the digestive system and bacterial infections.

Kamchatka berries are a source of vitamin C and contain from 30.5 to 186.6 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of fresh weight, which is comparable to the vitamin C content in red currant fruit (25.6-40.0 mg / 100 g), oranges (54.0 mg / 100 g fresh weight) or kiwi fruit (29.0-80.0 mg / 100 g fresh weight), recognized as rich sources of vitamin C.5

In addition, honeysuckle fruits contain B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and potassium.

However, phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins and phenolic acids are considered the most important components of Kamchatka berry. Anthocyanins constitute the predominant group of polyphenols in haskap berries.

These compounds have powerful antioxidant properties and therefore help prevent many diseasesthe underlying cause of oxidative stress. The ORAC value (ability to absorb reactive oxygen species, expressed as µmol TE / 100 g) for Kamchatka berries is one of the highest among fruits and amounts to 13,400 µmolTE / 100gms.6

Kamchatka berry can prevent diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Such conclusions were reached by scientists from the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Olsztyn .¹ In a 4-week experiment, 24 adult rats on a high-sugar diet were used. Only some of them received Kamchatka berry extract, rich in anti-cyans (a dose of 327 mg anthocyanins / g body weight).

In rats that did not receive the extract, hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and impaired glucose tolerance were detected. In rodents to which the Kamchatka berry extract was added to their meals, normalization of blood glucose and lipid levels was noticed.

Scientists have concluded that Kamchatka berries alleviate disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism caused by improper diet, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Kamchatka berry or American blueberry?

Kamchatka berries are an interesting alternative to forest blueberries or blueberries.

Kamchatka berry can protect against UV rays

The protective effect of anthocyanin extract of Caucasian blueberries against UV-A and UV-B radiation was observed in in vitro models of human keratinocytes (one of the epidermal cell types).

The protective effect was expressed by the reduction of lipid oxidation, DNA damage and the reduction of the level of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in cell cultures. This effect was confirmed by Czech scientists from Palacký University in an in vivo study on hairless mice, whose diet was supplemented with a 10% addition of honeysuckle fruit extract, which resulted in partial protection against UV-B radiation .²

Kamchatka berry can protect against radioactive radiation

Anthocyanins isolated from Kamchatka berry administered intragastrically to mice for a period of two weeks showed radioprotective effects covering the surface of the whole body, according to Chinese scientists.³ The mechanism of radioprotection was probably based on the elimination of free radicals from the body.

Kamchatka berry: antibacterial properties

Screening of fruit extracts has demonstrated antimicrobial activity against several common strains of pathogenic bacteria4such asEscherichia coli , staphylococcus ( Staphylococcus epidermidis ), fecal streptococcus,Diphtheria corynea, Sienna,Campylobacter , Meningitis,Streptococcus mutans .

Kamchatka berry :use in the kitchen

Dark navy blue berries covered with a waxy coating are sweet and sour, perfect for consumption raw, as well as for preserves, drying or freezing.

Kamchatka berry: preserves

The use of these fruits in the food industry includes the production of jams, wine, sweets and yoghurts, intended mainly for the Japanese market. The limitation of increasing the industrial production of fruit is the high acquisition costs associated with manual harvesting (the possibilities of mechanical harvesting are limited).

Learn more about the Kamchatka berry

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