Page 46 - CSHS 2022 Book of Abstracts - 2022-08-22 web version

CSHS 2022 Conference

(HO.5) Haskap berry, is it a miracle fruit?
Madumani Amararathna , David Hoskin , H.P. Vasantha Rupasinghe
1,2
2
1*
1. Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Bible Hill, NS; 2.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
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Haskap berry (Lonicera caerulea) is a purple fruit native to northern boreal forests in Canada, Europe, and Asia. For
centuries, native people in the northern hemisphere had widely used haskap berry and plant parts for therapeutic
uses. New haskap varieties have been developed through plant breeding programs; hence they are commercially
grown worldwide, including in Canada. The emerging demand for food-derived health products has prompted
evaluation of the health beneficial properties of haskap berry against many human diseases, including certain
cancers. We have assessed the nutritional and nutraceutical characteristics of haskap berry bioactives and their role
in oxidative stress, inflammation and immunity, and lung carcinogenesis. Haskap berries are rich in vitamin C and
potassium. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside is the most predominant anthocyanin that exerted higher antioxidant capacity
and reduced oxidative stress in cultured human cells. Anthocyanin-rich extracts of haskap berry also inhibit the
release of pro-inflammatory cytokines by lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages in vitro. As a dietary
supplement, haskap berry suppressed the carcinogen-induced inflammation and altered the growth and
proliferation of immune cells in mice, indicating the immunomodulatory properties of the berry. We have shown
that anthocyanin-rich haskap berry extracts reduce carcinogen-induced DNA damage and cell proliferation in
cultured lung epithelial cells and carcinogen-induced lung tumorigenesis in A/Jcr mice. These findings suggest that
haskap berry is a versatile berry that can be utilized to prevent or cure many human diseases. Future validation of
the efficacy of the haskap berry in clinics is necessary to establish the health-promoting properties of this ancient
berry.

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