Research Spotlight: Maqui Berry As An Anti-inflammatory

Maqui berry, also known as Chilean Blackberry and Aristotelia Chilensis

, grows wild in the Patagonia region of South America. This purple berry plays a key role in the dietary and medicinal practices of the local Mapuche people, who hand-pick the Maqui in Rainforest Foods Maqui Berry capsule and Maqui Berry powder products.

Maqui is known for its potency as an antioxidant, its benefits for the human immune system and its uses in treating ailments. These include fever, ulcers and diabetes. It is also regarded as having anti-inflammatory properties, although this has been little-recognised by the scientific community until recently. Pioneering work published in South America this year (2010) by Carlos Cespedes et al, attempted to quantify this. It concluded that the fruits and their constituents of A.chilensis have excellent anti-inflammatory activities.

The study used fruit, air-dried and prepared for extraction. Specimens were deposited with two Univiersity collections for control purposes. Extracts, fractions and subfractions of the fruit and its individual compounds were prepared using laboratory-grade solvents.

To test for anti-inflammatory action the researchers induced oedema (inflammatory swelling) in the ears of mice, using solutions of acetone and varying amounts of the Maqui extract. They also used varying solutions of the several fractions and subfractions. This methodology was designed to calculate the degree to which Maqui and its component parts are capable of inhibiting inflammation.

Maqui performed well. All samples, states the report, showed a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity. This compared well with data collected by Cespedes for indomethacin and ovatifolin, two commercially-available anti-inflammatory drugs. Maqui and its constituents, concludes the report, have great potential as a source for natural health products.

Rainforest Foods is a leading manufacturer of premium organic food supplements. Its mission is to source the finest of natures foods from the very best suppliers, bringing them at affordable prices to discerning clients who dont happen to have a rainforest on their doorstep. Rainforest Foods is certified by the Soil Association. Its wide, almost entirely organic range includes acai berry, barley grass, chlorella, maca, spirulina, wheatgrass and of course, macqui berry in both capsule and powder form.

by: RainforestFoods

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