Choke Berry
2
Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) Plant Description, His tory and Use: Chokeberry is a deciduous shrub native to North America where it can be found growing wild in regions ranging from Nov a Scotia to Florida and throughout the Midwest. It has dark green foliage that turns red in the fall . White owers appear in the sp ring, giving way t o deep purple, almost b lack, berries. Its beauty has led to its use as an ornamental shrub in North America, and it is particularly useful in absorbing swampy areas. The berries are very tart from the high content of tannins, but just before harvest they sweeten, becoming popular with deer and birds. The plant was introduced to Russia in the late 1800’s and subsequent ly cultivated throughout Central and Eastern European countries, where it is harvested between late August and early October . The plant has been widely studied in these countries in state-directed research programs seeking to improve health through the use of natural products for food and medicinal use. It has gained popularity as a healthy food source with its fruits and juice used commerci ally and for home cooking in beverages, jams, llin gs, wines etc. The chokeberry juice has a unique taste, with a pleasant tartness somewhat simi lar to cranberry but with sweeter low notes as in blackberry . Its juice and extracts from the berries have also been used medicinally , and most notably to treat victims of radiation pois oning. Fun Fact: A survey showed that Americans prefer the colloquial name “chokeberry” to the exotic term Aronia. However, those surveyed also stated “ I know you won’t choke on this berry but other people might think so” - further conrmation that we al - ways think we are smarter than the average bear. Eco-plant: There have been studies in both the US and Eastern/Central Europe suggesting the role of chokeberry as an eco-plant. In both regions, thi s refers in part to its use in hab itat preservation and reclamation of wetlands. European researchers have noted its exceptional resistance to indu strial and trafc pollution. It has been shown to be resistant to pests and can be cultivated with a minimal use of herbicides. Phytonutrient Composition: Chokeberry fruit contains vitamins, including B2, B6, E, C, and folic acid (which may lend credence to its traditional use for expecting mothers ). It has an unusual sugar prole, with sorbitol as the dominant sugar . It has a high level of phenolic acids, tannins, catechins and other active avonoi ds, including quercitin, rutin, hesperidin and procyanidin. Some of these avonoids have been documented to reduce infectivity and replication of viruses, and analyses of avonoids in chokeberry report a range from 2500 to 3500mg/100g. Chokeberry truly is one of the fruits highest in anthocyanin content, even compared to blueberry or pomegranate, with reported ranges between 725 to 1050mg/100 g of fresh fruit. A lot of attentio n is now being paid to the high content of anthocyanins in chokeberry due to research showing the strong link between anthocyanins and a number of health benets, including antioxidant/anti-inammatory activity, a demonstrably positive effect on brain function, and an extraordinary ability to ght certain cancer mechanisms. v Cyanidin-3-galactosides vCyanidin-3-xylosides v Cyanidin-3-arabinosides v Cyanidin-3-glycoside A R T E M I S INTERNATIONAL, INC. From Field To FuncTion Tm
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Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Plant Description, History and Use: Chokeberry is a deciduous shrub native to North America where it can be found
growing wild in regions ranging from Nova Scotia to Florida and throughout the Midwest. It has dark green foliagethat turns red in the fall. White owers appear in the spring, giving way to deep purple, almost black, berries. Its
beauty has led to its use as an ornamental shrub in North America, and it is particularly useful in absorbing swampy
areas. The berries are very tart from the high content of tannins, but just before harvest they sweeten, becoming
popular with deer and birds.
The plant was introduced to Russia in the late 1800’s and subsequently cultivated throughout Central and Eastern
European countries, where it is harvested between late August and early October. The plant has been widely studied
in these countries in state-directed research programs seeking to improve health through the use of natural products for
food and medicinal use. It has gained popularity as a healthy food source with its fruits and juice used commercially
and for home cooking in beverages, jams, llings, wines etc. The chokeberry juice has a unique taste, with a pleasant
tartness somewhat similar to cranberry but with sweeter low notes as in blackberry. Its juice and extracts from theberries have also been used medicinally, and most notably to treat victims of radiation poisoning. Fun Fact: A survey
showed that Americans prefer the colloquial name “chokeberry” to the exotic term Aronia. However, those surveyed
also stated “ I know you won’t choke on this berry but other people might think so” - further conrmation that we al-
ways think we are smarter than the average bear.
Eco-plant: There have been studies in both the US and Eastern/Central Europe suggesting the role of chokeberry as an
eco-plant. In both regions, this refers in part to its use in habitat preservation and reclamation of wetlands. European
researchers have noted its exceptional resistance to industrial and trafc pollution. It has been shown to be resistant to
pests and can be cultivated with a minimal use of herbicides.
Phytonutrient Composition: Chokeberry fruit contains vitamins, including B2, B6, E, C, and folic acid (which may
lend credence to its traditional use for expecting mothers). It has an unusual sugar prole, with sorbitol as thedominant sugar. It has a high level of phenolic acids, tannins, catechins and other active avonoids, including
quercitin, rutin, hesperidin and procyanidin. Some of these avonoids have been documented to reduce infectivity and
replication of viruses, and analyses of avonoids in chokeberry report a range from 2500 to 3500mg/100g.
Chokeberry truly is one of the fruits highest in anthocyanin content, even compared to blueberry or pomegranate, with
reported ranges between 725 to 1050mg/100g of fresh fruit. A lot of attention is now being paid to the high content
of anthocyanins in chokeberry due to research showing the strong link between anthocyanins and a number of health
benets, including antioxidant/anti-inammatory activity, a demonstrably positive effect on brain function, and an
extraordinary ability to ght certain cancer mechanisms.
v Cyanidin-3-galactosides vCyanidin-3-xylosides
v Cyanidin-3-arabinosides v Cyanidin-3-glycoside
A R T E M I SINTERNATIONAL, INC.
From Field To FuncTionTm
8/3/2019 Choke Berry
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Chokeberry Research: The selected studies below just begin to illustrate the accumulating medical evidence
of the positive effects of chokeberry on a variety of health-related concerns, including cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, cancer, gastric distress and exposure to UV radiation.
Gastric Role: In his research on gastric systems, Matsumoto et al., (2004) have suggested that the cyanidins in choke-
berry scavenge the radicals generated during gastric mucosal damage. When chokeberry was administered to rats with
gastric hemorrhage, the gastric mucosal protection was proportional to the increased anthocyanin levels from the choke-
berry extract. In pancreatitis, radicals are generated causing much damage to the pancreas. Jankowska et al., (1999)have indicated that anthocyanins derived from chokeberry suppress pancreatic edema, inhibit lipid peroxidation, and
inactivate adenosine deaminase.
Cardiovascular and Diabetes Studies: Researchers have shown that anthocyanins play an important role in diabetes and
cardiovascular disease. Anthocyanins from chokeberry decreases the glucose levels in urine and decreases the TBARS
(measure lipid oxidation) level in both urine and blood serum. Other scientic groups have shown that anthocyanins
from chokeberry decrease glycemic and HbAlc-glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Naruszewicz et al., (2000) conducted a
cardiology clinical trial where patients with myocardial infarction (MI) were treated with chokeberry. This study
suggested that chokeberry intake reduced systolic blood pressure in these patients. It was also illustrated that chokeberry
reduced LDL oxidation and inhibited factors that mediated inammation. Bell et al., at the Indiana School of Medicine
(ISOM) showed that of all berry extracts tested, chokeberry provided complete cellular protection from oxidative injury
and had a direct vasorelaxation effect on the arterial endothelium through the stimulation of nitric oixide (NO). A further
study through ISOM and a cardiology practice showed increased ow mediated dilation of the brachial artery in human
subjects.
UV radiation: Niedworok et al., (1999) researched the effect of anthocyanin gel against UV radiation and found that
chokeberry can be used for UV protection. It is well established that UV radiation from sunlight is harmful due to free
radicals that are being generated. The researchers found that in rat models application of anthocyanins derived from
chokeberry does decrease UV damage.
Anti-Cancer Studies: Of numerous berry or
other natural products tested, choke-berry
continues to show exceptional activity inghting cancer. Pilkington, Rooprai etc.
all showed that chokeberry extracts intro-
duced to highly malignant brain tumor lines
showed down regulation of MMP-9
activity and, when introduced, completely
killed cancer cells within 24 hours. In
independent studies at University of Mary-
land, Cornell and Purdue chokeberry showed
remarkable apoptosis in various cancer cell
lines.
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