Benefits
Supports Tear Fluid Production
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 74 adults aged 30 to 60 who had eye dryness and fatigue and worked at screens four or more hours a day, 60 mg of MaquiBright® a day for 4 weeks increased tear fluid on the Schirmer test by about 6.4 mm (p=0.005). This is the best supported claim on the page, though it rests on a single 4-week trial.
Rich in Delphinidin Anthocyanins
Maqui berry is high in delphinidin-type anthocyanins, and in test-tube experiments these pigments neutralize free radicals. None of the human studies cited on this page measured antioxidant status in the body, so an antioxidant benefit in people has not been demonstrated.
Glucose Findings Come From a Different Branded Extract
The blood sugar research cited here used Delphinol®, a different branded maqui extract, over three months in adults already diagnosed with prediabetes. It was not a study of MaquiBright® and it was not done in healthy people, so it does not show that this product affects blood sugar. Anyone with prediabetes or diabetes should be managing it with a doctor rather than a supplement.
Lipid Findings Also Come From That Different Extract
The only cholesterol and triglyceride data cited here come from the same three-month study of Delphinol®, a different branded extract, in people with prediabetes, whose markers were not in the normal range. No cited trial tested MaquiBright® on blood lipids, and none tested people whose levels were already normal.
Promotes Eye Comfort During Screen Use
In the same 74-person trial, participants who spent four or more hours a day on screens reported less eye fatigue (p=0.047), less shoulder stiffness (p=0.035) and better scores on a dry eye quality of life questionnaire (p=0.037) after 4 weeks on 60 mg a day. These are self-reported ratings from one study, and nothing here shows any effect on eyesight or vision sharpness.
Mechanism of action
Lacrimal Gland Stimulation via Anthocyanins
How maqui increases tear fluid is not established. One proposed explanation is that delphinidin pigments reduce oxidative and inflammatory stress on the tear-producing glands. This is a hypothesis drawn from laboratory work; the human trials measured tear output, not gland biology.
ROS Scavenging and Nrf2 Modulation
In cell and test-tube studies, delphinidin-3-sambubioside-5-glucoside scavenges free radicals and may switch on the Nrf2 pathway, which raises the body's own antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. This has not been confirmed in people taking maqui.
Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibition
Maqui anthocyanins block the gut enzymes alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase in test-tube experiments, which in theory would slow the breakdown of carbohydrates. The only human blood sugar data come from a different branded extract in people with prediabetes, so there are no 'observed' glucose effects for this product to explain.
Anti-Inflammatory Cytokine Modulation
In laboratory models, delphinidin compounds dampen NF-kB signaling and lower inflammatory messengers such as TNF-alpha and IL-6. No cited human study measured inflammation in people taking maqui.
Clinical trials
Open-label pilot trial with no placebo group, 30 days, 60 mg/day MaquiBright®, published in Panminerva Medica, a lower-tier journal
13 Japanese adults with dry eye symptoms, a very small group
Tear fluid on the Schirmer test rose compared with the start of the study, and participants reported less dryness. Everyone knew they were taking the supplement and there was no placebo group, so these results cannot be separated from expectation or normal day-to-day variation. The authors themselves describe it as a pilot.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 60 mg/day MaquiBright® for 4 weeks
74 adults aged 30 to 60 with eye dryness and fatigue who did four or more hours of screen work a day
Tear production on the Schirmer test rose by 6.4 mm (p=0.005). Self-reported eye fatigue (p=0.047), stiff shoulders (p=0.035) and dry eye quality of life scores (p=0.037) also improved, and no adverse events were reported. Only the 60 mg dose was tested and the trial ran 4 weeks, so nothing is known about longer use or other doses.
Three-month clinical trial of Delphinol®, a different branded maqui extract, not MaquiBright®, published in Panminerva Medica
Adults diagnosed with prediabetes
Over three months the researchers reported lower blood glucose and improved blood lipid readings in people with prediabetes. The trial used Delphinol®, not the MaquiBright® extract this page is about, and it was run in a diagnosed pre-disease group, so it says nothing about what MaquiBright® does for a healthy person's blood sugar. It appeared in the same lower-tier journal as the pilot study.