Blueberries and palm oil in gut cell model
What it found
In lab tests using human gut and immune cells, blueberries, blackberries and bananas reduced the immune activation caused by palm oil and bacterial toxins.
Blueberries had the strongest effect.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Palm oil and toxin movement
In the lab model, palm oil increased the movement of bacterial toxins (LPS) across intestinal cells. The amount of toxin that crossed was much higher when palm oil was present.
Immune cell activation
The fluid from intestinal cells treated with palm oil and LPS caused more immune activation in macrophages. This shows the translocated LPS was still active.
Fruits reduce immune activation
Blueberries, blackberries and bananas all reduced the immune activation in macrophages caused by palm oil and LPS. Blueberries reduced it by about 46%, blackberries by 40%, and bananas by 31%.
Chylomicron release
Palm oil increased the release of chylomicrons from intestinal cells. The digested fruits reduced this release, with blueberries, blackberries and bananas causing decreases of about 20%, 34% and 28%, respectively.
Chylomicron role
Blocking chylomicron formation with a drug reduced immune activation by only about 14%, suggesting chylomicrons play a minor role in toxin movement.
Gene activity
Blueberries changed the activity of many genes involved in moving substances across cells, including those for chylomicron assembly and transcytosis. Blackberries had a moderate effect, and bananas had little effect.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that digested fruits, especially blueberries, can reduce palm oil-induced LPS translocation across intestinal cells, likely by affecting clathrin-mediated transcytosis and chylomicron-dependent mechanisms.
- They suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of fruit-rich diets may be due to preventing metabolic endotoxemia.
How it was done
The authors wanted to understand how berries might reduce metabolic endotoxemia, a rise in bacterial toxins in the blood after a fatty meal, which is linked to heart and metabolic conditions.
They used a lab model of human intestinal cells (Caco-2) and immune cells (THP1-Lucia) to test digested palm oil with or without bacterial toxins (LPS), and then added digested blueberries, blackberries or bananas. The cells were exposed for 24 hours, and the experiments were done in three biological replicates.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a lab study using human cells, not people. It cannot show what happens in the human body.
- The model simplifies the complex processes in the gut, so the results may not fully reflect real life.
- The study did not test individual compounds in the fruits, so it cannot say which specific substances are responsible.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by MOCIA (Maintaining Optimal Cognitive function In Ageing); NWO Crossover grant; Dutch Research Council (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [NWO]) (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands; Cornell University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Blueberries Reduce Palm Oil-Induced Metabolic Endotoxemia in an In Vitro Human Intestinal-Immune Cell Model
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Casademont-Roca A, Tomassen MMM, Kersten S, Steegenga WT, Hooiveld GJ, Mes JJ (2025). Blueberries Reduce Palm Oil-Induced Metabolic Endotoxemia in an In Vitro Human Intestinal-Immune Cell Model. Molecular nutrition & food research. doi:10.1002/mnfr.70311Free full textPubMed 41220278DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error