Chokeberry juice, cholesterol and blood pressure in at-risk adults
What it found
In adults at risk of heart disease, drinking chokeberry juice for four weeks did not change cholesterol or blood pressure compared with a placebo drink.
It did slightly change the mix of fatty acids in the blood.
What they found
Studies in people
Cholesterol unchanged
Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol did not change substantially in any group. The authors could not link chokeberry juice to a reduction in these levels compared with the placebo.
Blood pressure
Systolic and diastolic blood pressure fell by about 4 to 5 mm Hg in all three groups, including the placebo group. The authors say this may be a placebo effect or a time-point difference, not an effect of the chokeberry polyphenols.
Fatty acid changes
People who drank the chokeberry juice had a small rise in palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid, and a fall in linoleic acid, an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, compared with the placebo group. The authors could not find a clear dose-response between the low and high polyphenol doses.
Oxidised LDL
Levels of oxidised LDL and related ratios fell more in the chokeberry groups than in the placebo group, but this was only significant in the high-dose group when compared with its own starting values. There were no significant differences between the three groups at the end.
No dose-response
The authors could not tell a clear difference between the low and high polyphenol doses. They suggest the smaller dose may already have been enough to reach the maximum observable effect.
What the authors conclude
“Our study provides additional evidence that the daily intake for several weeks of chokeberry juice with either a low- or a high-dose of polyphenols does not have a substantial impact on a range of classic anthropometric and cardiovascular biomarkers in individuals at cardiovascular risk.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say their study provides additional evidence that daily intake for several weeks of chokeberry juice with either a low or high dose of polyphenols does not have a substantial impact on a range of classic anthropometric and cardiovascular biomarkers in individuals at cardiovascular risk.
- They state that their results do not support a reducing effect on total- and LDL-cholesterol but provide evidence of the relevance of using a nutritionally-matched drink without polyphenols to detect potential placebo effects, such as the reducing effect on blood pressure.
- They conclude that intake of the two doses of polyphenol-containing chokeberry juice is associated with some modifications in the composition of plasma phospholipid fatty acids, principally increased palmitic acid and reduced n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
How it was done
Chokeberry polyphenols have been suggested to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and protect against heart disease, but evidence in people is limited and inconsistent. The authors wanted to test this properly against a polyphenol-free placebo.
84 adults at cardiovascular risk were randomly assigned to drink 100 mL a day of chokeberry juice with a high dose of polyphenols, a low dose, or a polyphenol-free placebo drink for four weeks. The study was double-blinded and measured cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and fatty acids in the blood.
What it can’t tell you
- The study lasted only four weeks, so it cannot show what might happen over a longer period.
- The authors could not tell whether the fatty acid changes were caused by the polyphenols or by other factors such as diet.
- The results are from a specific group of adults at cardiovascular risk, so they may not apply to other people.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia; EUFP7 Bacchus; COST Action (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Belgrade, Serbia
The paper
- Title
- Chokeberry Juice Containing Polyphenols Does Not Affect Cholesterol or Blood Pressure but Modifies the Composition of Plasma Phospholipids Fatty Acids in Individuals at Cardiovascular Risk
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Pokimica B, García-Conesa MT, Zec M, et al (2019). Chokeberry Juice Containing Polyphenols Does Not Affect Cholesterol or Blood Pressure but Modifies the Composition of Plasma Phospholipids Fatty Acids in Individuals at Cardiovascular Risk. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu11040850Free full textPubMed 30991718DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error