Clinical Trial Shows Benefits of Elderberry Juice in Weight Management - Video

Elderberry juice may be a potent tool for weight management and enhancing metabolic health, according to a recent Washington State University-led study.

A clinical trial published in the journal Nutrients found that drinking 12 ounces of elderberry juice daily for a week causes positive changes in the gut microbiome and improves glucose tolerance and fat oxidation.

The researchers tested the effects of elderberry on metabolic health in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 18 overweight adults. Participants consumed either elderberry juice or a placebo with similar coloring and taste, specially designed by North Carolina State University’s Food Innovation Lab, while maintaining a standardized diet.

Clinical testing following the intervention showed that participants who consumed elderberry juice had significantly increased amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, including firmicutes and actinobacteria, and decreased amounts of harmful bacteria, such as bacteroidetes.

Results also showed that the elderberry juice reduced participants’ blood glucose levels by an average of 24%, indicating a significantly improved ability to process sugars following carbohydrate consumption. Results also showed a 9% decrease in insulin levels. Additionally, results suggested that elderberry juice can enhance the body’s ability to burn fat.

The researchers attribute these positive effects to elderberry’s high concentration of anthocyanins, plant-based bioactive compounds that have a variety of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antimicrobial effects.

“Food is medicine, and science is catching up to that popular wisdom,” said corresponding author Patrick Solverson, an assistant professor in the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. “This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that elderberry, which has been used as a folk remedy for centuries, has numerous benefits for metabolic as well as prebiotic health.”

Reference: Teets, C., Ghanem, N., Ma, G., Minj, J., Perkins-Veazie, P., Johnson, S. A., ... & Solverson, P. M. (2024). A One-Week Elderberry Juice Intervention Augments the Fecal Microbiota and Suggests Improvement in Glucose Tolerance and Fat Oxidation in a Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients, 16(20), 3555.