Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women

<b>Introduction</b>: Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns, often leading to increased cardiovascular risk. <b>Methods</b>: This eight-week interventional study examined whether regular consumption of two natural bilberry products could improve body composit...

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Main Authors: Marta Habanova, Maros Bihari, Radek Latal, Martina Gažarova, Petra Lenártová, Jana Pastrnakova, Jadwiga Hamulka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Metabolites
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/4/218
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author Marta Habanova
Maros Bihari
Radek Latal
Martina Gažarova
Petra Lenártová
Jana Pastrnakova
Jadwiga Hamulka
author_facet Marta Habanova
Maros Bihari
Radek Latal
Martina Gažarova
Petra Lenártová
Jana Pastrnakova
Jadwiga Hamulka
author_sort Marta Habanova
collection DOAJ
description <b>Introduction</b>: Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns, often leading to increased cardiovascular risk. <b>Methods</b>: This eight-week interventional study examined whether regular consumption of two natural bilberry products could improve body composition and lipid profiles in overweight/obese women. A total of 30 participants (aged 50–60 years) were assigned to consume either 125 mL/day of 100% bilberry juice or 10 g/day of 100% bilberry fibre, while maintaining their habitual diets and lifestyles. <b>Results</b>: Although no significant changes were found in anthropometric parameters or blood pressure in either group, both interventions reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Surprisingly, total cholesterol (TC) levels rose in the bilberry juice group (from 6.41 ± 1.23 mmol/L to 6.94 ± 1.30 mmol/L (<i>p</i> < 0.001)), and in the fibre group (from 6.06 ± 1.39 mmol/L to 6.43 ± 1.05 mmol/L (<i>p</i> = 0.046)), likely due to elevated HDL-C (<i>p</i> < 0.001) overshadowing the drop in LDL-C (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Triglyceride (TG) levels did not change significantly and were still within the reference range. <b>Conclusions</b>: Notably, the bilberry juice group experienced a significant reduction in atherogenic small dense LDL (sdLDL) subfractions, suggesting a favourable shift in cardiovascular risk factors. These findings highlight the potential of bilberry-based products as a supportive strategy for improving lipid profiles in overweight/obese women.
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spelling doaj-art-6e7300ad7cb845d8a8e993465933d5382025-08-20T02:28:24ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892025-03-0115421810.3390/metabo15040218Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese WomenMarta Habanova0Maros Bihari1Radek Latal2Martina Gažarova3Petra Lenártová4Jana Pastrnakova5Jadwiga Hamulka6The Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaThe Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaThe Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaThe Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaThe Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaThe Institute of Nutritional and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, SlovakiaDepartment of Human Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW-WULS), 02-787 Warszawa, Poland<b>Introduction</b>: Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns, often leading to increased cardiovascular risk. <b>Methods</b>: This eight-week interventional study examined whether regular consumption of two natural bilberry products could improve body composition and lipid profiles in overweight/obese women. A total of 30 participants (aged 50–60 years) were assigned to consume either 125 mL/day of 100% bilberry juice or 10 g/day of 100% bilberry fibre, while maintaining their habitual diets and lifestyles. <b>Results</b>: Although no significant changes were found in anthropometric parameters or blood pressure in either group, both interventions reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Surprisingly, total cholesterol (TC) levels rose in the bilberry juice group (from 6.41 ± 1.23 mmol/L to 6.94 ± 1.30 mmol/L (<i>p</i> < 0.001)), and in the fibre group (from 6.06 ± 1.39 mmol/L to 6.43 ± 1.05 mmol/L (<i>p</i> = 0.046)), likely due to elevated HDL-C (<i>p</i> < 0.001) overshadowing the drop in LDL-C (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Triglyceride (TG) levels did not change significantly and were still within the reference range. <b>Conclusions</b>: Notably, the bilberry juice group experienced a significant reduction in atherogenic small dense LDL (sdLDL) subfractions, suggesting a favourable shift in cardiovascular risk factors. These findings highlight the potential of bilberry-based products as a supportive strategy for improving lipid profiles in overweight/obese women.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/4/218overweightobesitybilberryjuicefibrelipid profile
spellingShingle Marta Habanova
Maros Bihari
Radek Latal
Martina Gažarova
Petra Lenártová
Jana Pastrnakova
Jadwiga Hamulka
Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
Metabolites
overweight
obesity
bilberry
juice
fibre
lipid profile
title Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
title_full Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
title_fullStr Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
title_full_unstemmed Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
title_short Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women
title_sort short term supplementation with 100 bilberry products and its effects on body composition and lipid profile in overweight obese women
topic overweight
obesity
bilberry
juice
fibre
lipid profile
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/4/218
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