New Zealand blackcurrant growers are exploring the marketing opportunities highlighted by a Plant & Food Research report earlier this year into the health benefits of the berry.
The report joined a body of international research attributing a number of health benefits to blackcurrants, such as being able to reduce asthma symptoms and improve eyesight, blood circulation and mental acuity.
Such research has opened new doors for blackberry marketers, such as International Blackcurrant Association (IBA) president Jim Grierson, based in Christchurch in New Zealand, reported NZPA.
“This research is turning consumers back to our blackcurrants,” he said. “The types of health and functional values being proven are simply extraordinary.”
The IBA is planning to provide blackcurrant or blackcurrant extracts to athletes to demonstrate their effects, the NZPA report said.
At the Second International Blackcurrant Association Conference held in May in Beaune, France, scientists detailed research into the effects of blackcurrants on decision making.
Berry polyphenols such as those found in blackcurrants had been shown the improve decision making under stress, they said.
Additional research in Japan and France has also indicated blackcurrants could reduce eyestrain, improve night vision, and improve circulation to the extremities in cold weather.
