17 replies to this topic

[Mousehunter]

I would like to buy a blueberry exctract but before I will buy it I want to know, extract of how many gramms of blueberries is there in each capsule. The problem is, I don't know how I can calculate it CORRECT.
I asked LEF-advisory and the answer was

It is difficult to make the comparison you are requesting because the supermarket blueberry is a cultivated blueberry with a lower nutritional value than the wild blueberries we use, so it takes more grams of supermarket blueberry to get to the level that we provide in our Blueberry Extract. However, one capsule of Blueberry Extract Capsules (500 mg) equals 50 grams of wild blueberry. This equates to roughly 100 grams of cultivated blueberries. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce.

My response:

One capsule of LEF Blueberry Extract contains 12,5 mg Anthocyanins. But it is written in this article.
http://search.lef.or.....RRYS bilberry

"Anthocyanin levels range from 0.25 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in pears to 500 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in blueberries"

If I calculate with this formula I have 12,5 mg of anthocyanin. = 2.5 grams of blueberries.

LEF:

The anthocyanin content of blueberries varies with where they are grown (cultivated vs. wild) and other factors. For this reason we standardize the amount of anthocyanins in each capsule, adding more if needed to reach the standardization amount. As you can see from the product description below, we use three different blueberry extracts of varying strengths. This is why there is a discrepancy in the numbers.



And now I don't know what the truth is. 2,5 grams or 50 grams? Can anybody help me?
2,5 grams is not enough. 50 grams is very good but a little unlikely

Edited by Mousehunter, 11 October 2008 - 10:20 AM.

[Wedrifid]

Your math checks out and the 500mg/100g figure matches that found in other sources. How much Anthocyanin survives the extraction process that LEF's source uses? Drying blueberries, for example, removes about half. (http://www.pubmedcen...i?artid=1082901)

I would like to buy a blueberry exctract but before I will buy it I want to know, extract of how many gramms of blueberries is there in each capsule. The problem is, I don't know how I can calculate it CORRECT.
I asked LEF-advisory and the answer was

It is difficult to make the comparison you are requesting because the supermarket blueberry is a cultivated blueberry with a lower nutritional value than the wild blueberries we use, so it takes more grams of supermarket blueberry to get to the level that we provide in our Blueberry Extract. However, one capsule of Blueberry Extract Capsules (500 mg) equals 50 grams of wild blueberry. This equates to roughly 100 grams of cultivated blueberries. There are 28.35 grams in an ounce.

My response:

One capsule of LEF Blueberry Extract contains 12,5 mg Anthocyanins. But it is written in this article.
http://search.lef.or.....RRYS bilberry

"Anthocyanin levels range from 0.25 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in pears to 500 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in blueberries"

If I calculate with this formula I have 12,5 mg of anthocyanin. = 2.5 grams of blueberries.

LEF:

The anthocyanin content of blueberries varies with where they are grown (cultivated vs. wild) and other factors. For this reason we standardize the amount of anthocyanins in each capsule, adding more if needed to reach the standardization amount. As you can see from the product description below, we use three different blueberry extracts of varying strengths. This is why there is a discrepancy in the numbers.



And now I don't know what the truth is. 2,5 grams or 50 grams? Can anybody help me?
2,5 grams is not enough. 50 grams is very good but a little unlikely

[niner]

"Anthocyanin levels range from 0.25 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in pears to 500 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in blueberries"
And now I don't know what the truth is. 2,5 grams or 50 grams? Can anybody help me?
2,5 grams is not enough. 50 grams is very good but a little unlikely

The thing that is confusing you is that the anthocyanin content of blueberries varies wildly, from a low of 0.0025 mg anthocyanin/gm blueberry to a high of 5 mg anthocyanin/gm blueberry. Depending on the anthocyanin content of the berry, the 12.5 mg dose in the pill could represent anywhere from 2.5 gm of really potent blueberries to 5000 gm (not 50 gm; your math is wrong) of really weak blueberries. That's the whole point of standardization. Most blueberries probably fall in a much smaller range than they give here. I don't know exactly what the number might be for, say, the median wild blueberry. I eat about a half cup of wild blueberries (frozen) in a typical day. I tried a blueberry extract pill once but it caused insomnia. It was not from LEF, though.

[Wedrifid]

anywhere from 2.5 gm of really potent blueberries to 5000 gm (not 50 gm; your math is wrong) of really weak blueberries. That's the whole point of standardization. Most blueberries probably fall in a much smaller range than they give here.

The math is LEF's, not mouse's. Given than the drying process tends to destroy up to half of the Anthocyanin, it does seem likely that the 50gm figure is the one that doesn't check out.

Do you have a source for the claim that up to 5 kg of blueberries may be required for such a small dose of Anthocyanin. In the studies I have seen of various types of blueberries, and even comparisons to such alternatives as rasberries and strawberries, the differences were nowhere near so significant.

[niner]

anywhere from 2.5 gm of really potent blueberries to 5000 gm (not 50 gm; your math is wrong) of really weak blueberries. That's the whole point of standardization. Most blueberries probably fall in a much smaller range than they give here.

The math is LEF's, not mouse's. Given than the drying process tends to destroy up to half of the Anthocyanin, it does seem likely that the 50gm figure is the one that doesn't check out.

Do you have a source for the claim that up to 5 kg of blueberries may be required for such a small dose of Anthocyanin. In the studies I have seen of various types of blueberries, and even comparisons to such alternatives as rasberries and strawberries, the differences were nowhere near so significant.

I'm sorry, I misread this:

Anthocyanin levels range from 0.25 mg per 100 grams fresh weight in pears to

I didn't notice that it said "pears"! I thought they were giving a range for blueberries. That would be 5kg of pears, which I don't recommend. Forget everything I said...

Blueberries probably do have a range of anthocyanins, just not as low as pears have. The real question, then, is what is a reasonable value for the anthocyanin content of the typical blueberry? I couldn't say...

[Mousehunter]

Your math checks out and the 500mg/100g figure matches that found in other sources. How much Anthocyanin survives the extraction process that LEF's source uses? Drying blueberries, for example, removes about half. (http://www.pubmedcen...i?artid=1082901)

Thanks. I think I will buy frozen berries.
I suppose this is the best way.

[Wedrifid]

Your math checks out and the 500mg/100g figure matches that found in other sources. How much Anthocyanin survives the extraction process that LEF's source uses? Drying blueberries, for example, removes about half. (http://www.pubmedcen...i?artid=1082901)

Thanks. I think I will buy frozen berries.
I suppose this is the best way.

It's what I tend to go with. Unfortunately when i tried too much in the way of fruit smoothies I discovered a fructose intolerance. Got to take it a little easy.

[aikikai]

I use Finnish blue berry powder. Cheaper and better than expensive supplements.

[graatch]

I eat about a half cup of wild blueberries (frozen) in a typical day. I tried a blueberry extract pill once but it caused insomnia.

Interesting, wonder what that means, since by our rough estimates half-cup wild blueberries should be higher in anthocyanin content than most single extract pills standardized for anthocyanin content.

Can you describe the insomnia?

That's a weird question I guess, but I bet you know what I mean, niner. With insomnia one can recognize many different species and colorations of the sleepless night (the unceasing thought-loom; the tired-but-wired; the blank unassuming mechanical failure; the pumped-up-and-want-to-accomplish-things; the damp halfasleep (but no cigar) filmy haze, almost hypogeal (where frustration ripens like a fungal growth) -- I think I've ascertained that one to be a close relative of the blank mechanical failure; and many more). 'Tho by 4am or so they usually combine to form one monstrous many-headed insomnia.

What about the other effects of the extract pill?

I believe that my 1 cup frozen wild blueberries daily promote an acute sense of calm, and also heighten the effect of my nicotine lozenges. I was pretty sure that I was experiencing the latter, even before I realized that some of the phenolic acids in blueberries tend to inhibit CYP2A6, which metabolizes nicotine to cotinine. Good stuff.

Edited by graatch, 16 October 2008 - 01:04 AM.

[Mousehunter]

LEF has recently changed the description of the blueberry extract.

It is written now
"Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) anthocyanin extract = 375 mg

Before:
Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) powder extract (whole fruit) [std. to 1.5% Anthocyanins (5.25 mg) =350 mg

What do you think about this?
375 mg anthocyanin would be very nice provided that is pure anthocyanin.

[balance]

I actually liked that LEF puts as much information as possible on the bottle. That said, when I called them a few months ago they actually told me they are quitting that... They say that most don't put much info on the bottle at all, and basically LEF doesn't feel the need to stand out anymore. Don't know if your blueberry label change is evidence for this.. I sure hope this won't happen. It's like LEF's recently introduced Berry Complete. Seems like a great product, except where's the standardization info.... 400mg could mean there's a very tiny amount of pomegranate for example... I know the first ingredients listed are usually the ones that make up most of the product/capsule, but still, I'd like to know more of what I'm ingesting. My point is, it could be a great product, or it could be a marketing stunt/rip off.

[edward]

Just to throw my two cents worth in, I searched in vain for an economical blueberry extract that would give me something eating a decent amount of frozen wild blueberries wouldn't (ie some high levels of standardizaiton for anthocynins) I found that the crop of blueberry extracts out there now are just not good enough when compared to daily injestion of frozen wild blueberries.

My solution, eat frozen wild blueberries (I am lucky my local bulk food store kind of like Sams or Costco, maybe Sams or Costco has them to Id check it out) has bulk frozen Wild blueberries (wild ones are about 1/3 the size on normal blueberrries and much more nutrient dense). I also take a good bilberry extract which is relatively inexpensive and standardized to an extend that I couldn't eat that many berries. There is a great deal of overlap between bilberry and blueberry basically they are both "blueberries" just different varieties.

[Mousehunter]

I also take a good bilberry extract which is relatively inexpensive and standardized to an extend that I couldn't eat that many berries.

Could you tell us which product it is?

Edited by Mousehunter, 25 October 2008 - 07:40 AM.

[edward]

I also take a good bilberry extract which is relatively inexpensive and standardized to an extend that I couldn't eat that many berries.

Could you tell us which product it is?

BAC powdered bilberry/european blueberry

http://www.easycart....s_A-B.html#8259

Throw in a third to a half a cup of wild blueberries a day an you have a winning combination

Edited by edward, 26 October 2008 - 05:21 AM.

[niner]

I eat about a half cup of wild blueberries (frozen) in a typical day. I tried a blueberry extract pill once but it caused insomnia.

Interesting, wonder what that means, since by our rough estimates half-cup wild blueberries should be higher in anthocyanin content than most single extract pills standardized for anthocyanin content.

Can you describe the insomnia?

That's a weird question I guess, but I bet you know what I mean, niner. With insomnia one can recognize many different species and colorations of the sleepless night (the unceasing thought-loom; the tired-but-wired; the blank unassuming mechanical failure; the pumped-up-and-want-to-accomplish-things; the damp halfasleep (but no cigar) filmy haze, almost hypogeal (where frustration ripens like a fungal growth) -- I think I've ascertained that one to be a close relative of the blank mechanical failure; and many more). 'Tho by 4am or so they usually combine to form one monstrous many-headed insomnia.

What about the other effects of the extract pill?

I believe that my 1 cup frozen wild blueberries daily promote an acute sense of calm, and also heighten the effect of my nicotine lozenges. I was pretty sure that I was experiencing the latter, even before I realized that some of the phenolic acids in blueberries tend to inhibit CYP2A6, which metabolizes nicotine to cotinine. Good stuff.

Hi graatch, sorry I missed this last week; just saw it tonight. I went downstairs and rummaged through my box of "Supplements that seemed like a good idea at the time", and recovered a bottle of Natural Factors Blue Rich Super Strength Blueberry Concentrate. It's a Vaccinium Corymbosum 500mg, yielding 2.5% Anthocyanins; 12.5mg Anthocyanins. So it was fairly potent, if it lives up to the label. The insomnia was not obviously wired, just a simple "jeez, I've sure been awake a long time, why the hell am I not sleeping?" sort of thing. It was quite a while ago so it dims in my memory. I don't recall any positive effects that stood out, but then at my half-century age, a positive effect may well take the form of deterioration that doesn't happen, so it's hard to know if a given drug did something or not.

[nicklesprout]

bump.

 

Nyles7 has a 25% anthocyanin blueberry extract on ebay for sale. would taking an extract with that potency have a noticeable effect on mood? also, does anyone know anything about the synergistic effect of blueberry extract and L-NAME? check out this pubmed article:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22488796

 

 

[pleiotropic]

bump.

 

Nyles7 has a 25% anthocyanin blueberry extract on ebay for sale. would taking an extract with that potency have a noticeable effect on mood? also, does anyone know anything about the synergistic effect of blueberry extract and L-NAME? check out this pubmed article:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22488796

 

Are there any human studies suggesting it would have an effect on mood?  I know it's supposed to help older people with cognitive decline, here they measured a type of "mood" using the geriatric depression scale: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20047325

 

Personally I've tried supplementing with Nature's Way anthocyanins/bilberry product since they do lab testing in the US.  3 months of 2x 80mg bilberry (25% anthocyanin) + 125mg elderberry.  I'm doing it for the general health properties that berries confer... have not noticed any effect on mood... but my mood is pretty good already with high levels of exercise.

 

 

When googling for quality and anthocynins, I found that NOW Foods imply that some chinese suppliers use a dye to fake anthocyanins.    I would be cautious about this.  Make sure your supplier knows about testing!

 

http://www.nowfoods....ork/M100184.htm

[nicklesprout]

did you read the pubmed article in my post above? that's what it suggests, in my opinion. 

 

the supplier i mentioned is a chemist i believe who did the extraction himself using natural methods, in order to get a higher concentrated form of extract.