Blueberries
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush) and Vaccinium angustifolium (wild or lowbush), from the heather family, Ericaceae
A fruit eaten fresh, frozen, dried or as juice, in highbush and wild (lowbush) kinds, and studied mostly for heart and metabolic health and for memory and thinking. Here is every study in people we could find, sorted from each study's summary.
- Part used: the fruit
- Given as fruit, powder, juice or extract
- Often a single serving
From every paper to the studies that matter
Most research on blueberries is about growing the fruit, its chemistry or lab work. Only a small share tests it in people, and that is what this page is about.
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4,632 papers mention blueberries.Every record in PubMed, all years
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308 are about people.The rest: 1,608 lab and animal studies, 323 reviews, 2,393 on chemistry, farming and more
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115 give blueberries on their own.49 more test them inside a blend or with mixed berries
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72 are randomised against a placebo.Randomised controlled trials In a randomised controlled trial, people are put into groups by chance, one taking the treatment and one a placebo or other comparison. Chance spreads differences such as age and health evenly, so a difference between the groups is more likely to be down to the treatment., the strongest kind of study
Bar lengths use a square-root scale so the small numbers stay visible.
How much research there is
- 115 studies giving blueberries to people
- 72 of them randomised against a placebo A placebo-controlled trial compares a real treatment with a dummy that looks the same, the placebo. People often feel better when they expect to, so comparing against a placebo shows how much of the change comes from the treatment itself.
- 3,210 people taking part, where studies say
- 56 systematic reviews A systematic review searches for every study on a question in a set, written-down way, judges the quality of each and sums up what they show together. Many include a meta-analysis. The Atlas lists these as pooled reviews. pooling the trials
Studies in people, by year published
Blueberries on their own. Most were published since 2015.
What the studies looked at
Each study can measure several things. Choose a topic to see its studies in the list below.
Studies in people with a diagnosed condition are counted here and listed with their population. We describe what they measured, not what they might treat. Most studies also report safety; see below.
What was tested, and how much
Studies gave blueberries in very different forms, from whole or freeze-dried fruit and powders measured in grams to drinks, juice and a few concentrated extracts of a few hundred milligrams. A gram of powder stands for several grams of fresh berries, and a milligram of extract for far more, so milligrams don't compare from one study to the next. Many studies gave one serving shortly before testing.
Daily amount, one dot per study
Studies per extract
Named extracts are the maker's brand. "Not named" means the study didn't say.
All studies in people
Filter the list, then open a study on PubMed. Each row comes from the study's published summary.
| Study | Who took part | People | Extract and daily dose | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huang 2026Crossover, placebo | Healthy young adults | 62 | Not named, 42,200 mg | – |
| Guardino 2026RCT, placebo | Cognitively healthy older adults | 57 | Not named, 20,000 mg | 24 weeks |
| Sánchez-Rosales 2026RCT, placebo | Adults 50-75 with overweight or obesity | 52 | Not named | 12 weeks |
| Ellis 2026Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | 24 | Wild blueberry drink | – |
| Xu 2026Pharmacokinetic | Healthy young adults | 20 | Not named | – |
| Millar 2026RCT, placebo | Older sedentary adults, mild depressive symptoms | 18 | Not named, 48,000 mg | 13 weeks |
| Hu 2026Non-randomised controlled | Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes | 15 | Blueberry anthocyanin extract, 400 mg | 26 weeks |
| Giles 2026Crossover, placebo | Experienced trail runners | 9 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Rendine 2026Crossover, placebo | Healthy young adults | – | Wild blueberry drink, 30,000 mg | – |
| Venter 2025RCT, placebo | Human-milk-fed infants | 76 | Not named, 10,000 mg | 30 weeks |
| Porter Starr 2025RCT, placebo | Sedentary older adults with overweight or obesity | 55 | Not named | 12 weeks |
| Wu 2025RCT, active or other control | Healthy young adults | 48 | Blueberry juice | – |
| Gassner 2025RCT, active or other control | Healthy sedentary women | 30 | Not named | – |
| Santana 2025Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adults | 18 | Not named | – |
| Galán-Ramírez 2025Other | Healthy premenopausal women | 14 | Not named | – |
| Venable 2025Crossover, placebo | Adults with depressive or anxiety disorder | – | Not named, 24,000 mg | 12 weeks |
| Velichkov 2024RCT, placebo | Emerging adults with depressive symptoms | 60 | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Wang 2024Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | 37 | Not named, 20,000 mg | 1 weeks |
| Tucci 2024Crossover, placebo | Older adults over 60 | 20 | Blueberry mousse | – |
| Cheng 2024Crossover, placebo | Healthy older adults | – | Wild blueberry extract (WBE), 222 mg | – |
| Cheatham 2023RCT, placebo | Older adults with mild cognitive decline | 86 | Wild blueberry powder | 26 weeks |
| Wood 2023RCT, placebo | Healthy older adults | 61 | Not named, 26,000 mg | 12 weeks |
| Nieman 2023RCT, placebo | Untrained adults after eccentric exercise | 49 | Not named | 3 weeks |
| Woolf 2023RCT, placebo | Postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure | 43 | Not named, 22,000 mg | 12 weeks |
| Wilder-Smith 2023Crossover, placebo | Patients with functional GI disorders | 43 | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Hodges 2023RCT, active or other control | Healthy postmenopausal women | 14 | Not named | – |
| Pilolla 2023Single-arm or open-label | Aerobically trained males | 11 | Wild blueberries | 2 weeks |
| Doraiswamy 2023Single-arm or open-label | Older adults with mild cognitive impairment | 10 | Not named, 36,000 mg | 12 weeks |
| Curtis 2022RCT, placebo | Adults with metabolic syndrome | 45 | Not named, 26,000 mg | – |
| Sinclair 2022RCT, placebo | Adults, blueberry juice arm vs placebo | 45 | Blueberry juice | 3 weeks |
| Wang 2022RCT, active or other control | Healthy young adults | 37 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Gagnon 2022Single-arm or open-label | Adults at risk of metabolic syndrome | 24 | Not named, 50,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Krikorian 2022RCT, placebo | Middle-aged insulin-resistant adults with memory complaints | – | Not named | – |
| Rousseau 2021RCT, placebo | Adults at risk of metabolic syndrome | 49 | Highbush blueberry powder, 50,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Rutledge 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy older adults | 38 | Not named, 24,000 mg | 13 weeks |
| Whyte 2021Crossover, placebo | Healthy middle-aged adults | 35 | Wild blueberry drink | – |
| Barfoot 2021RCT, placebo | Healthy children aged 7-10 | 15 | Wild blueberry drink | 4 weeks |
| Olofsson 2021Other | Type 2 diabetes patients and healthy adults | 13 | Blueberry drink | – |
| Brandenburg 2021Crossover, placebo | Recreational runners in hypoxia | 11 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Palma 2021Other | Sedentary healthy adults | 10 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Stote 2020RCT, placebo | Men with type 2 diabetes | 52 | Not named, 22,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Blum 2020Single-arm or open-label | Younger and older women | 22 | Freeze-dried blueberry, 38,000 mg | 6 weeks |
| Fisk 2020RCT, placebo | Adolescents | – | Wild blueberry drink | 4 weeks |
| Whyte 2020RCT, placebo | Healthy children aged 7 to 10 | – | Wild blueberry | – |
| Curtis 2019RCT, placebo | Adults with metabolic syndrome | 115 | Not named | 26 weeks |
| Du 2019RCT, placebo | Adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis | 63 | Freeze-dried blueberry powder, 40,000 mg | 17 weeks |
| Barfoot 2019RCT, placebo | Healthy children aged 7 to 10 | 54 | Wild blueberry drink | – |
| Lemay 2019Crossover, placebo | Adults, high-fat meal challenge | 20 | Not named | – |
| Stote 2019Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | 17 | Not named | – |
| Olofsson 2019Other | Healthy, CKD and type 2 diabetes participants | 16 | Not named | – |
| Brandenburg 2019Crossover, placebo | Runners | 14 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Sobolev 2019Single-arm or open-label | Obese patients with metabolic syndrome | 5 | Not named | – |
| Rodriguez-Mateos 2019RCT, active or other control | Healthy adults, wild blueberry trials | – | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Whyte 2018RCT, placebo | Healthy older adults 65-80 y | 122 | ThinkBlue WBE111; wild blueberry powder | 26 weeks |
| Miller 2018RCT, placebo | Healthy older adults 60-75 y | 37 | Freeze-dried blueberry, 24,000 mg | 13 weeks |
| Traupe 2018RCT, active or other control | Patients undergoing elective major surgery | 26 | Not named | 2 weeks |
| Langer 2018Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adults | 9 | Not named | – |
| Park 2018Non-randomised controlled | Young active adults | 8 | Not named | – |
| Boespflug 2018RCT, placebo | Older adults with mild cognitive impairment | – | Not named | 16 weeks |
| Xu 2017RCT, placebo | Cerebral venous thrombosis patients with depressive symptoms | 124 | Blueberry extract, 10 mg | 13 weeks |
| Khalid 2017RCT, placebo | Children and young adults | 71 | Not named | – |
| Johnson 2017RCT, placebo | Postmenopausal women with pre- or stage 1 hypertension | 40 | Freeze-dried highbush blueberry powder, 22,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Bowtell 2017RCT, placebo | Healthy older adults | 26 | Blueberry concentrate | 12 weeks |
| Del Bo' 2017Crossover, placebo | Young healthy male smokers and non-smokers | 24 | Not named | – |
| Whyte 2017Crossover, placebo | Healthy children 7-10 y | 21 | Wild blueberry freeze-dried powder, 30,000 mg | – |
| Stote 2017Crossover, placebo | Women at risk for type 2 diabetes | 19 | Not named | 1 weeks |
| Kalt 2017Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adults | 17 | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Bell 2017Crossover, placebo | Healthy young adults | 17 | Freeze-dried wild blueberry powder | – |
| Kalt 2017Pharmacokinetic | Healthy volunteers | 17 | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Kim 2017RCT, active or other control | Healthy young women | 12 | Not named | 2 weeks |
| Zhong 2017Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adults | – | Wild blueberry freeze-dried powder, 25,000 mg | – |
| Nair 2017RCT, placebo | Adults with metabolic syndrome | – | Freeze-dried blueberry, 45,000 mg | 6 weeks |
| Cheatham 2016RCT, placebo | Older adults with mild cognitive impairment | 133 | Not named | 26 weeks |
| Ono-Moore 2016Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | 23 | Not named | – |
| Whyte 2016Crossover, placebo | Healthy children aged 7 to 10 | 21 | Wild blueberry powder, 30,000 mg | – |
| Feliciano 2016Pharmacokinetic | Healthy men | 18 | Wild blueberry | 4 weeks |
| Del Bo' 2016Crossover, placebo | Healthy male smokers | 14 | Not named | – |
| Zhong 2015RCT, placebo | Juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients on etanercept | 201 | Not named | 26 weeks |
| Johnson 2015RCT, placebo | Postmenopausal women with pre- or stage 1 hypertension | 48 | Freeze-dried blueberry powder, 22,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Stull 2015RCT, placebo | Adults with metabolic syndrome | 44 | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Whyte 2015Crossover, placebo | Healthy children 8-10 y | 14 | Not named | – |
| Del Bo' 2015RCT, placebo | Adults in wild blueberry drink trial | – | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Schrager 2015RCT, active or other control | Older adults over 60 | – | Not named | 6 weeks |
| McAnulty 2014RCT, placebo | Sedentary healthy adults 18-50 y | 25 | Blueberry powder | 6 weeks |
| Kalt 2014Pharmacokinetic | Healthy volunteers | 17 | Not named | – |
| Del Bo' 2014Crossover, placebo | Young male smokers | 16 | Not named | – |
| Rodriguez-Mateos 2014Crossover, placebo | Healthy volunteers | 10 | Not named | – |
| Kalt 2014Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | – | Blueberry anthocyanin extract | 12 weeks |
| Nyberg 2013RCT, active or other control | Healthy adults | 32 | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Rodriguez-Mateos 2013Crossover, placebo | Healthy men | 21 | Not named | – |
| Riso 2013Crossover, placebo | Men with cardiovascular risk factors | 18 | Wild blueberry freeze-dried powder, 25,000 mg | 6 weeks |
| Blacker 2013Crossover, placebo | Healthy adults | 14 | Not named | – |
| Del Bó 2013Crossover, placebo | Healthy young men | 10 | Not named | – |
| Hanley 2013Pharmacokinetic | Healthy volunteers | – | Not named | – |
| Guglielmetti 2013Crossover, placebo | Healthy volunteers | – | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Del Bo' 2012Pharmacokinetic | Healthy volunteers | – | Not named | – |
| McAnulty 2011RCT, active or other control | Well-trained runners | 25 | Not named | 6 weeks |
| Clegg 2011Crossover, placebo | Healthy volunteers | – | Not named | – |
| Vendrame 2011Crossover, placebo | Healthy volunteers | – | Wild blueberry powder | 6 weeks |
| Basu 2010RCT, active or other control | Obese adults with metabolic syndrome | 48 | Freeze-dried blueberry, 50,000 mg | 8 weeks |
| Stull 2010RCT, placebo | Obese, insulin-resistant adults | 32 | Blueberry bioactives smoothie, 45,000 mg | 6 weeks |
| Krikorian 2010Single-arm or open-label | Older adults with early memory changes | 9 | Wild blueberry juice | 12 weeks |
| Serafini 2009Other | Healthy volunteers | 11 | Not named | – |
| Sánchez-Moreno 2008RCT, placebo | College athletes | 12 | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Toromanović 2008Single-arm or open-label | Healthy adults | 10 | Not named | – |
| Prior 2007Other | Healthy volunteers, single meals | – | Not named | – |
| Tonstad 2006RCT, active or other control | Adults with cardiovascular risk factors | 94 | Not named | 4 weeks |
| Kahle 2006Pharmacokinetic | Healthy ileostomy volunteers | – | Not named | – |
| McAnulty 2005RCT, active or other control | Chronic smokers | 20 | Not named | 3 weeks |
| Wu 2002Pharmacokinetic | Elderly women | 10 | Not named | – |
| Kay 2002Crossover, placebo | Healthy middle-aged men | 8 | Wild blueberry freeze-dried powder, 100,000 mg | – |
| Mazza 2002Pharmacokinetic | Healthy adults | – | Freeze-dried blueberry powder | – |
| Karantanas 2000Single-arm or open-label | Healthy volunteers and patients for MR imaging | 21 | Not named | – |
| Pedersen 2000Crossover, placebo | Healthy women | 9 | Not named | – |
| QUAISER 1954Other | Infants with dyspepsia | – | Not named | – |
What's known about safety
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In trials
Most trials gave amounts close to an everyday serving of fruit, including a 6-month trial of up to a cup of fresh berries a day. Their summaries seldom report side effects, and we found no review that pools side effects across blueberry trials.
Curtis 2019, 6-month trial at 75 or 150 g a day; study summaries in our library; PubMed search for safety reviews, Oct 2026
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In the UK
Blueberries are an everyday food. UK rules count a food as novel only if it wasn't eaten to a significant degree in the UK or EU before 15 May 1997. We couldn't confirm the status of concentrated blueberry extracts.
FSA novel foods authorisation guidance; EU Novel Food Status Catalogue could not be opened, Oct 2026
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Check first
Case reports describe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, linked to a protein found in many fruits, and red blood cell breakdown in a child with G6PD deficiency after eating fresh blueberries. Blueberry supplements haven't been studied on their own in pregnancy or breastfeeding, so speak to a pharmacist or doctor first if either applies or you take regular medicines.
Gebhardt 2009 and Jiang 2023, case reports of anaphylaxis; Babu 2019, case report; no trials of blueberries alone in pregnancy found, Oct 2026
Where these studies come from
We list every published study of highbush and wild (lowbush) blueberry fruit in people. Bilberry, cranberry and blueberry leaf are left out, and mixed berries count as a blend. This first version is built from each study's summary; full-paper checks come next.
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We search
PubMed, the world's main library of medical research, for every paper on L-theanine.
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We keep studies in people
Lab and animal work is counted but left out of the list, because it doesn't tell you what happens in people.
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We note the basics
Who took part, how many, how much and for how long, from each study's published summary. A second check corrects what the first read gets wrong.
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We read them in full
Results appear once we've read the whole paper and checked every number. The date at the top shows when this entry was last updated.
Download the study list
Every study in people as a spreadsheet, 115 rows, free to reuse with a link back.
Versions
Each update to the data gets a new version number, so you can tell what changed and when.
See every version
1.0 · 24 Oct 2026. First release. Every published study giving blueberries on its own to people is listed from its summary. None is read in full yet.
