Elderberry juice and thyroid hormones in mice and people
What it found
In 18 overweight adults, a week of elderberry juice raised thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) compared with a placebo drink.
In 33 male mice on a high-fat diet for 13 weeks, elderberry powder lowered T4 by a small amount that was not statistically significant.
What they found
Studies in people
Thyroid hormones in people
In the human trial, elderberry juice raised T4 by about 11% and TSH by about 21% compared with the placebo drink. Thyroglobulin did not change.
Thyroid gland stress
Thyroglobulin levels in people did not change with elderberry juice. The authors say this suggests the juice was not acting as a stressor on the thyroid gland.
Animal and lab studies
Thyroid hormone in mice
In mice fed a high-fat diet for 13 weeks, elderberry powder lowered T4 by 8% compared with the control diet. The authors report this difference was not statistically significant.
Studies in people and animals
Human and mouse differ
The rise in T4 and TSH in people was the opposite of the fall in T4 seen in mice. The authors say this may reflect a long-term adaptation in the mice.
Other findings
What this might mean
The authors note that higher T4 in humans matches a higher metabolic rate. They say the exact way elderberries affect thyroid function is still unclear.
What the authors conclude
“These findings suggest that elderberry juice consumption may influence thyroid metabolism, contributing to the observed metabolic benefits, such as improved fat oxidation, body composition, and protection against high-fat diet-induced weight gain.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say these findings suggest that elderberry juice consumption may influence thyroid metabolism, potentially contributing to the observed metabolic benefits, such as improved fat oxidation, body composition, and protection against high-fat diet-induced weight gain.
- They write that the increased T4 and TSH in humans aligns with an enhanced metabolic rate, while the reduction in T4 in rodents indicates potential long-term adaptations requiring further exploration.
- They advise that future studies should measure other thyroid markers such as T3, free and bound thyroid hormones, and deiodinase activity to better understand any effects.
How it was done
Earlier work from the same group found that elderberry juice prevented weight gain in mice on a high-fat diet and increased fat burning after a meal in overweight people. The authors wanted to see whether thyroid hormones, which affect metabolism, could help explain those effects.
They measured thyroid hormones in stored blood samples from two earlier studies. One was a 7-day diet-controlled crossover trial in 18 overweight and obese adults (15 women) who drank elderberry juice or a placebo drink twice daily. The other was a 13-week study of 33 male mice fed a high-fat diet with or without elderberry juice powder, and with or without running wheels.
What it can’t tell you
- The human part was a small, short study of 7 days, mostly in middle-aged women, so it cannot show long-term effects or apply to everyone.
- The mouse results cannot show what happens in people.
- Measuring only T4, TSH and thyroglobulin in blood gives an incomplete picture of thyroid function and may not reflect what is happening in tissues.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by National Institute of Food and Agriculture (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Washington State University, USA; University of Vermont, USA
The paper
- Title
- A Preliminary Analysis of the Influence of Elderberry Juice Consumption on Thyroid Metabolism in Mice and Humans Fed High-Fat Diets
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Jarrett CL, Teets C, Carbonero FG, Etter AJ, Solverson PM (2025). A Preliminary Analysis of the Influence of Elderberry Juice Consumption on Thyroid Metabolism in Mice and Humans Fed High-Fat Diets. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu17040612Free full textPubMed 40004941DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error