Trial reportJournal of Crohn's & colitis2013
Bilberry ingestion improves disease activity in mild to moderate ulcerative colitis - an open pilot study.
Trial report in Journal of Crohn's & colitis, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 147 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sports Dietitians Australia and Ultra Sports Science Foundation Joint Position Statement: A Practitioner Guide to the Prevention and Management of Exercise-Associated Gastrointestinal Perturbations and Symptoms.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Guideline
- Preventing Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer With Antioxidants: A Systematic Review.Cellular and molecular gastroenterology and hepatology · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Anthocyanin-Rich Extract in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- A (poly)phenol-rich diet reduces serum and faecal calprotectin in older adults with increased intestinal permeability: the MaPLE randomised controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- New Zealand blackcurrant extract modulates the heat shock response in men during exercise in hot ambient conditions.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Anthocyanin supplementation improves anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacity in a dose-response manner in subjects with dyslipidemia.Redox biology · 2020Trial
- Use of complementary and alternative medicine in Swedish patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a controlled study.European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology · 2016Trial
- The Efficacy of Ayurvedic Herbs in the Prevention and Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Health Benefits of Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Supplementation in Adults with Mild to Moderate Ulcerative Colitis; A Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Landscape of flavonoid metabolism in human gut microbiome and its association with health and disease.Gut microbes reports · 2025Article
- Anthocyanin-Rich Extract Mitigates the Contribution of the Pathobiont GenusMicroorganisms · 2024Article
- The emerging role of oxidative stress in inflammatory bowel disease.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Harnessing the Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Polyphenols in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.International journal of biological sciences · 2024Review
- Review
- Health Benefits of Montmorency Tart Cherry Juice Supplementation in Adults with Mild to Moderate Ulcerative Colitis: A Protocol for a Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial.Methods and protocols · 2023Article
- New Insights of Biological Functions of Natural Polyphenols in Inflammatory Intestinal Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Review
- Oxidative stress, hormones, and effects of natural antioxidants on intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Polyphenols and Ulcerative Colitis: An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Red Wine Consumption on Gut and Oral Microbiome in Active-Phase Patients.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2022Article
- Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Bilberry (Current issues in molecular biology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
- Expression of concern · 2022-01-24Civil Proceedings · Concerns/Issues about Data · Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions · Legal Reasons and/or Threats · · See also: https://doi.org/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjab225 Journal was previously published by Elsevier until 2015.
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedCorrection.2023
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsA significant fraction of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is not sufficiently controlled with conventional therapy or suffers from therapy related side effects. Anthocyanins, highly abundant in bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus), were shown to have antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. We aimed to explore the therapeutic potential of bilberries in active UC.
methodsIn an open pilot trial with a total follow-up of 9 weeks the effect of a daily standardized anthocyanin-rich bilberry preparation was tested in 13 patients with mild to moderate UC. Clinical, biochemical, endoscopic and histologic parameters were assessed.
resultsAt the end of the 6 week treatment interval 63.4% of patients achieved remission, the primary endpoint, while 90.9% of patients showed a response. In all patients a decrease in total Mayo score was detected (mean: 6.5 and 3.6 at screening and week 7, respectively; p<0.001). Fecal calprotectin levels significantly decreased during the treatment phase (baseline: mean 778 μg/g, range 192-1790 μg/g; end of treatment: mean 305 μg/g, range <30-1586 μg/g; p=0.049), including 4 patients achieving undetectable levels at end of treatment. A decrease in endoscopic Mayo score and histologic Riley index confirmed the beneficial effect. However, an increase of calprotectin levels and disease activity was observed after cessation of bilberry intake. No serious adverse events were observed.
conclusionsThis is the first report on the promising therapeutic potential of a standardized anthocyanin-rich bilberry preparation in UC in humans. These results clearly indicate a therapeutic potential of bilberries in UC. Further studies on mechanisms and randomized clinical trials are warranted.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.