Benefits
Word recall in older adults after a single extract dose
In a crossover study of 20 adults aged 62 to 81, single drinks of haskap extract were compared with a sugar-matched placebo 1.5 hours later. The 200 mg anthocyanin dose gave higher word recall at three test points and the 400 mg dose better word recognition; the 100 mg dose had no effect. The 400 mg dose also raised errors on one subtraction task and lowered self-rated alertness. A haskap company funded it.
Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate after a single extract dose
In the same 20-person crossover study, the 400 mg anthocyanin dose gave lower diastolic blood pressure (72.8 vs 75.5 mmHg) and heart rate (60.6 vs 63.0 beats per minute) than placebo 1.5 hours later. Systolic pressure did not differ and the lower doses had no significant effect. The study's stated aim was memory, so blood pressure was an added measure, taken once.
Faster 5 km run and endurance after a week of haskap powder
In a double-blind trial, 30 male recreational runners took 6 g a day of freeze-dried haskap powder (about 150 mg anthocyanins) or a calorie-matched placebo for 6 days, plus doses on test day. Compared with placebo, the haskap group ran 5 km about 21 seconds faster and lasted about 20 seconds longer in a maximal test. Haskapa and Mibelle (maker of EnduBerry Nu) co-funded it.
Blood antioxidant enzymes after a week of fresh berries
In 10 healthy volunteers who ate 165 g of fresh berries a day (about 208 mg anthocyanins) for one week, urine levels of several phenolic acids rose and two red blood cell antioxidant enzymes increased. A marker of lipid oxidation (TBARS) also rose, plasma antioxidant status did not change, and there was no control group. Routine blood safety markers did not change.
Near vision measures with a three-berry extract blend
In a crossover trial of 23 adults over 50 with age-related loss of near vision (presbyopia), capsules of aronia, haskap and bilberry extracts (haskap was a quarter of the 800 mg daily dose) were compared with placebo for 6 weeks each. The blend was linked to better near contrast sensitivity and some visual field measures. The effect of haskap alone cannot be separated.
Results from mouse and rat studies
These are animal results, not human evidence. In mice, a haskap polyphenol extract lengthened treadmill running time to exhaustion by about 20%. In obese rats, 6 weeks of haskap lowered LDL and total cholesterol but did not change blood pressure or body weight. In rats, a purified haskap extract blunted the rise in blood fats and sugar after a test meal.
Mechanism of action
Phenolic acids in urine after eating the berries
Haskap's main pigments are cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside. After a week of eating the berries, volunteers excreted much more of several phenolic acids in urine, such as protocatechuic, ferulic and hippuric acid, consistent with the berry polyphenols being absorbed or broken down into smaller compounds, though the study had no control group.
Blood vessel signaling in animal studies
In obese rats, 6 weeks of haskap raised nitric oxide synthase activity and the antioxidant enzyme SOD in the aorta and lowered NADPH oxidase and NF-kappa B. The authors of the human memory study proposed that the small drop in diastolic blood pressure fits a blood vessel relaxing effect, but this was not measured in people.
Inflammatory signaling in cell studies
In human immune cells (THP-1 derived macrophages) stimulated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide, haskap extracts lowered IL-6, TNF-alpha, prostaglandin E2 and COX-2, and extracts with more polyphenols had stronger effects. These are cell culture findings only.
Clinical trials
Double-blind, counterbalanced crossover study comparing single drinks of haskap extract (standardized to 25% anthocyanins) providing 100, 200 or 400 mg anthocyanins with a sugar-matched placebo, with tests at baseline and 1.5 hours later. Funded by LaHave Natural Farms/Haskapa (Canada); the extract came from Global Direct Commodities. (Bell et al. 2019, Eur J Nutr)
20 older adults aged 62 to 81 (an opportunity sample), each tested on all four drinks.
Compared with placebo, the 200 mg dose raised word recall at three recall points and the 400 mg dose raised recall at one point and improved word recognition; the 100 mg dose had no significant effect. Mood and executive function did not improve; the lower doses cut errors on the subtraction tasks, but the 400 mg dose raised errors on one of them and lowered self-rated alertness. The 400 mg dose lowered diastolic blood pressure (72.8 vs 75.5 mmHg) and heart rate (60.6 vs 63.0 bpm); systolic blood pressure did not differ. The paper names no primary outcome; its stated aim was cognition, with blood pressure an added measure, and results are pairwise comparisons with placebo after a significant dose effect. Single doses only, in a small group.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with independent groups (not a crossover). The product was a commercial Haskapa freeze-dried haskap powder, not the EnduBerry Nu branded extract. Funded as a collaborative project between Northumbria University, Haskapa Limited (UK) and Mibelle Group Biochemistry, maker of EnduBerry Nu. (Howatson et al. 2022, Nutrients)
30 non-smoking male recreational runners aged 18 to 45; no women.
The haskap group took 6 g a day of freeze-dried haskap powder (about 150 mg anthocyanins) in yogurt for 6 days, plus a dose about an hour before the submaximal test and another before the 5 km time trial. Against an isocaloric placebo, the 5 km time trial was about 21 seconds faster (P = 0.016, about 2%) and time to exhaustion in the maximal test was about 20 seconds longer (P = 0.031). Both were the registered primary outcomes (NCT04837898); three runners who did not finish the time trial (two placebo, one haskap) were left out of that analysis. Small, men only, and part-funded by two haskap ingredient sellers.
Single-group before-and-after study, with no control group described, of one week of fresh blue honeysuckle berries, measuring urinary phenolic acids, oxidative stress markers and routine clinical chemistry. (Heinrich et al. 2013, J Agric Food Chem)
10 healthy volunteers eating 165 g/day of fresh berries (208 mg/day anthocyanins) for one week.
Urinary benzoic, protocatechuic, vanillic, ferulic, hippuric and other phenolic acids rose significantly. Red blood cell glutathione peroxidase and catalase rose, but so did the oxidation marker TBARS, and plasma antioxidant status did not change. Routine clinical chemistry safety markers were unchanged. Without a control group, the changes cannot be firmly attributed to the berries.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled two-period crossover of a capsule blend of aronia, haskap and bilberry extracts (2:1:1, standardized to at least 25% anthocyanins and 4.5% iridoids), 400 mg twice daily for 6 weeks per period with a 5-week washout; reported in two papers. Funded by Wroclaw Medical University; the first report says Greenvit supplied the extracts. (Szumny et al. 2026, Nutrients)
23 adults over 50 with presbyopia who do long hours of screen work, in Poland.
Compared with placebo, the blend was associated with better near contrast sensitivity and some visual field measures, with lower blood levels of lens crystallin proteins; blood antioxidant enzymes did not change. The first report described near visual acuity gains only in the second treatment period. The authors call the results preliminary, and haskap was only 100 mg of each 400 mg capsule, so its own effect cannot be separated. Retrospectively registered (NCT07382882).
Animal study in rats of an anthocyanin-rich phenolic fraction purified from haskap (13.2% anthocyanins), given by mouth before a fat or sugar load, and added to a high-fat diet for 4 weeks. (Takahashi et al. 2014, J Oleo Sci)
Laboratory rats; no human participants.
Compared with saline, the extract (cyanidin-3-glucoside at 300 mg/kg body weight) reduced the rise in blood fats after corn oil and the rise in blood sugar after sucrose. Over 4 weeks on a high-fat diet, 1.5% or 3.0% extract in the feed reduced the rise in blood fats and blood sugar compared with the high-fat control. Rat findings at high doses, not tested in people.
Cell culture study of methanol extracts from Canadian haskap cultivars grown in different locations, tested on human THP-1 derived macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. (Rupasinghe et al. 2015, Biomolecules)
Human immune cell line in the laboratory; no human participants.
The Borealis cultivar had the highest phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin content. Extracts richer in polyphenols went with lower IL-6, TNF-alpha, prostaglandin E2 and COX-2. Cell findings with extracts applied directly to cells; they do not show effects after eating haskap.