Honeyberry Nutritional Facts
The health and medical benefits of the Honeyberry have long been recognized in the folklore of indigenous Siberians. In Hokkaido, the Ainu people considered these wild fruit as ‘ the elixir of life.’ Several studies on the chemical composition of fruit have demonstrated exceptionally high vitamin C content and high values for both total phenolics and anthocyanins, all compounds known in contributing to good health in humans.
A nutritional powerhouse
In a study reported in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, March 2005, researchers found blue honeysuckle berries to possess the highest content of phenolic acids compared to other berries tested. Tested against blueberries, mulberries, juneberries, black currants, and blackberries, the fruits berries from the blue honeysuckle consistently produced the highest level of antioxidants.
So in summary, the Honeyberry is a nutritional powerhouse!
In 2009, a group of Slovak researchers published a study that analyzed the anthocyanin content of six uncommon berries, including black mulberries (Morus nigra), Cornelian cherries (Cornus mas), dewberries (Rubus caesius), Blackthorns (Prunus spinosa), rowanberries (Sorbus aucuparia), and Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica, a blue honeyberry variety that is native to Northeastern Asia. In this study, honeyberries had by far the highest levels of anthocyanins. Fruits and berries rich in anthocyanin flavonoids have several potential health benefits, including Anti-Inflammatory Properties, Good for the Eyes, Inhibitory Effects Against Colon Cancer Cells and Cardiovascular Benefits.
There is also accumulating scientific evidence that bioactive compounds such as antioxidants found in berries have significant other potential health benefits. Researchers at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture, based in Nova Scotia, have just announced their intention to examine the anticancer activity of Honeyberry’s bioactives after being awarded a grant from the Cancer Research Training Program.
Russian Honeyberry Smoothie
Honeyberry nutritional values
Nutrition facts for fresh Honeyberries are listed per 100 grams (or 33 calories) in the table below. The source of this data is to be found at the following link healwithfood.org site or clicking on the chart below.
Recent scientific research papers on Honeyberry
- Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity, H. P. Vasantha Rupasinghe. 2012
- Phenolic Profile of Edible Honeysuckle Berries (Genus Lonicera) and Their Biological Effects, 2012
- Y. Zhao et al. (2011). Antihypertensive effects and mechanisms of chlorogenic acids. Hypertens Res
- A. Zdarilova (2010). The polyphenolic fraction of Lonicera caerulea L. fruits reduces oxidative stress and inflammatory markers induced by lipopolysaccharide in gingival fibroblasts. Food and Chemical Toxicology
- B. Paulovicsova et al. (2009). Antioxidant properties of selected less common fruit species. Lucrari scientific zootechny si biotechnology. vol. 42 (1), Timisoara
- I. Palikova et al. (2008). Constituents and Antimicrobial Properties of Blue Honeysuckle: A Novel Source for Phenolic Antioxidants. J. Agric. Food Chem
- X. H. Jin (2006). Effects of blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) extract on lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Eye Research
- C. Zhao, et al. (2004). Effects of Commercial Anthocyanin-Rich Extracts on Colonic Cancer and Nontumorigenic Colonic Cell Growth. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry