UMaine Researchers Present Blueberry Health Benefits
Contact: Mary Ellen Camire (207) 581-1627; David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Maine — UMaine Food Science and Human Nutrition researchers Mary Ellen Camire, Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, Richard Cook, Alfred Bushway and Vivian Wu will be presenting the results of their research into the health benefits of blueberries in the annual meeting of the Bar Harbor Group beginning August 16. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the first meeting of the group, a collective of researchers studying the potential health benefits of wild blueberries. UMaine researchers have been part of the group since its inception.
UMaine professor Mary Ellen Camire’s work has focused on the value of the berries and their pigments to control type 2 diabetes and obesity. She has conducted several studies with human volunteers, most recently investigating how blueberry compounds could act like the diabetes management drugs acarbose and miglitol.
Professor Dorothy Klimis-Zacas discovered that blueberries improve the structure of blood vessels in rats, thereby improving blood flow. Her research has implications for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Recently, Klimis-Zacas traveled to the University of Milan during her sabbatical to initiate a new research program on blueberries and prevention of blood vessel damage in persons with diabetes.
Associate professor Richard Cook is well-known in the state for his nutritional assessment of Maine’s elderly population. Recently Cook published a paper in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition that demonstrated consumption of blueberries definitely leads to an increase in antioxidants in the bloodstream. He and his co-authors from the USDA Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center concluded that consumers should include blueberries or other antioxidant-rich fruits along with meals to prevent oxidative stress.
Wild blueberries can also protect health by killing bacteria that cause food-borne illness. Food science faculty members Alfred Bushway and Vivian Wu have successfully used the berries as a natural preservative in ground beef.
The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition works closely with the wild blueberry industry to identify emerging health issues and develop research projects that can demonstrate blueberry health benefits and strengthen the fruit’s position in the marketplace.