Blackcurrant: benefits, dosage, contraindications
Other name(s)
Blackcurrant shrub
Scientific name(s)
Ribes nigrum
Family or group:
Plants
Active ingredients:
Oligo-Proanthocyanidins
Anthocyanins
Vitamin C
Tannins
Flavonoids
Kaempferol
Indications
Scoring methodology
EFSA approval.
Recovery ✪✪✪✪✪
Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions make it advisable in cases of post-infectious recovery, particularly after influenza but also after surgery and radiotherapy.nnIt is also recommended in cases of physical and psychological stress or fatigue due to overwork.nnA true tonic, blackcurrant helps strengthen the body to fight flu-like conditions, thanks to the tannins and the vitamin C of the berries.nn
Posologie
By mouth: leaves, buds, berries
170 - 510 mg
Adults
Gemmotherapy, dry extract
Glaucoma ✪✪✪✪✪
Preliminary clinical research in healthy patients without glaucoma shows that taking 50 mg of blackcurrant anthocyanins per day for 4 weeks reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) by 1.2 mmHg compared with baseline. nnA larger clinical trial, including patients with open-angle glaucoma, shows that taking blackcurrant anthocyanins at 50 mg per day together with standard glaucoma medications for 24 months improves ocular blood flow compared with placebo. Taking this dose of blackcurrant anthocyanins also appears to reduce IOP by about 1.5 mmHg compared with placebo in patients receiving only a single glaucoma medication as eye drops. However, it does not appear to improve IOP in patients taking more than one anti-glaucoma medication. nnThese results suggest that blackcurrant anthocyanins may be beneficial in patients with open-angle glaucoma.nn
Posologie
By mouth: berries
50 mg
Adults
anthocyanin-standardized extract
Sports performance ✪✪✪✪✪
Blackcurrant appears to improve coordination and endurance. Blackcurrant anthocyanins influence vasorelaxation and regulation of blood flow. It has been shown that blackcurrant powder affects physiological and cardiovascular responses at rest and during physical exercise. According to researchers, these observations could have favorable implications for physical performance.
Posologie
Oral route: berries
1.5 - 6 g
Men
powder, juice
Effects of New Zealand blackcurrant extract on sport climbing performance
Beneficial Effects of New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract on Maximal Sprint Speed during the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test
Beneficial Physiological Effects With Blackcurrant Intake in Endurance Athletes
The effect of New Zealand blackcurrant on sport performance and related biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Gout ✪✪✪✪✪
Patients with gout experience painful inflammatory reactions to the formation of monosodium urate crystals. In addition to the painful joint deposits of these crystals, patients with gout often experience the formation of urate stones in their kidneys, which is treated by alkalinizing the urine. nnBerry juice has been used to modulate urinary pH for the treatment of conditions such as kidney stones. Some studies show that blackcurrant juice alkalinized the urine and also increased the excretion of citric and oxalic acid.nn
Posologie
Oral: leaf, buds, berries
170 - 510 mg
Adults
gemmotherapy, dry extract
Rheumatism ✪✪✪✪✪
Thanks to their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, blackcurrant leaves have long been used in Europe to treat arthritis and rheumatic conditions.nnBlackcurrant buds stimulate the adrenals and help combat inflammation by promoting cortisol secretion.nn
Posologie
Oral: leaf, buds
170 - 510 mg
Men
gemmotherapy, mother tincture, dry extract
Urinary disorders ✪✪✪✪✪
Traditionally valued for supporting renal and digestive elimination functions, blackcurrant leaves are officially recognized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a traditional herbal remedy. They are particularly recommended to increase urine production, thereby aiding the cleansing of the urinary tract, and are used as an adjunct to relieve minor urinary disorders.
Posologie
Oral use: leaf, buds, berries
170 - 510 mg
Adults
gemmotherapy, dry extract
ENT infections ✪✪✪✪✪
This is related to its anti-inflammatory effects targeting the respiratory tract. The presence of vitamin C in blackcurrants makes this fruit a natural remedy for the winter cold. Vitamin C helps strengthen the immune system.
Posologie
Oral use: leaf, buds, berries
170 - 510 mg
Men
gemmotherapy, dry extract
Kidney stones ✪✪✪✪✪
Related to its hypouricemic and uricosuric properties.
Posologie
Oral use: leaf, berries
170 - 510 mg
Adults
dry extract
Skin health ✪✪✪✪✪
There is interest in using blackcurrant to improve skin health and to slow its aging. Animal and in vitro research shows that blackcurrant extract and blackcurrant anthocyanins increase collagen and elastin in the skin of rats and in human skin fibroblast cells. Collagen and elastin maintain the skin's elasticity and flexibility and prevent the skin surface from becoming flabby and wrinkled. The many antioxidants in blackcurrant act as free radical scavengers; these highly reactive and unstable oxygen-derived species are responsible for premature aging. No clinical studies to support these effects.
Posologie
Oral: berries
Adults
infusion, juice
Blackcurrant Anthocyanins Increase the Levels of Collagen, Elastin, and Hyaluronic Acid in Human Skin Fibroblasts and Ovariectomized Rats
A Review of the Potential Benefits of Plants Producing Berries in Skin Disorders
Medicinal plants used for dermatological affections in Navarra and their pharmacological validation
Blackcurrant seed oil for prevention of atopic dermatitis in newborns: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Allergies ✪✪✪✪✪
Blackcurrant affects asthma, allergic rhinitis, and hay fever due to its polyphenol content.
Posologie
Oral: buds, leaf
170 - 510 mg
Adults
gemmotherapy, mother tincture
Blackcurrant proanthocyanidins augment IFN-gamma-induced suppression of IL-4 stimulated CCL26 secretion in alveolar epithelial cells
Blackcurrant anthocyanins modulate CCL11 secretion and suppress allergic airway inflammation
Properties
Bioenergizing
Blackcurrant is an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and several energizing flavonoids. Blackcurrant berries are four times richer in vitamin C than oranges: 200 to 250 mg per 100 g of fruit.
Usages associés
Anti-inflammatory
Clinical studies have detected significant cortisone-like anti-inflammatory activity in blackcurrant leaves. They act via several molecular mechanisms: they decrease the expression of inflammatory molecules IL-8 and E-selectin, a key action to mitigate allergic reactions. The anthocyanins and polyphenols present in the leaves provide anti-inflammatory effects comparable to those of corticosteroids. Indeed, anthocyanins have shown an ability to inhibit activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), which can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in the body, such as inflammatory cytokines. Finally, prodelphinidins in blackcurrant leaves reduce the expression of adhesion molecules and inhibit the COX-2 enzyme, reducing vascular inflammation and helping in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases.
Usages associés
Antioxidant
Besides their anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic activity, the oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) contained in blackcurrant leaves inhibit the formation of lipoperoxides by trapping free radicals and thus confer to blackcurrant leaves an antioxidant activity estimated at fifty times that of vitamin C.
Usages associés
Uricosuric effect
Traditionally, blackcurrant leaf extract is valued for its ability to increase urine production, which is particularly useful for people suffering from gout or a high level of uric acid in the urine. It is also sometimes used as an antihypertensive agent.
Usages associés
Analgesic
Blackcurrant reduces joint pain, rheumatism, arthritis, osteoarthritis and gout. In a rat pain assessment model, preventive administration of a 15% ethanolic extract of blackcurrant leaf produced a reduction in pain threshold that was more effective than acetaminophen used as the control.
Usages associés
Vision
The vasorelaxant effects of blackcurrant anthocyanins may increase blood flow to the eye, which could improve ocular function. Some clinical evidence shows that blackcurrant anthocyanins normalize plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1), which are often abnormal in patients with glaucoma. Blackcurrant anthocyanosides also help improve the eyes' ability to adapt to darkness. In addition, people with visual fatigue reported an improvement in their vision after consuming 50 mg of blackcurrant anthocyanosides, according to a study.
Usages associés
Dermatological effect
There is an interest in using blackcurrant to improve skin health and slow its aging. Animal and in vitro research shows that blackcurrant extract and blackcurrant anthocyanins increase collagen and elastin in the skin of rats and in human skin fibroblast cells. Collagen and elastin maintain the skin's elasticity and flexibility and prevent the surface of the skin from becoming flabby and wrinkled.
Usages associés
Vascular effect
Some in vitro and animal research shows that blackcurrant has antithrombotic and vasorelaxant properties and increases peripheral blood flow, which suggests it might help prevent myocardial infarction and stroke. This could explain its benefit in patients with venous insufficiency.
Immunomodulatory
Polyphenolic extracts from different blackcurrant cultivars are able, in vitro, to suppress the secretion of the chemokines CCL26. These are known to be associated with the persistent recruitment of eosinophils to inflammatory sites during the late phase of the allergic response. This provides a theoretical basis for the traditional use of blackcurrant in asthma and allergic rhinitis.
Usages associés
Safe dosage
Adults aged 18 and over: 170 mg - 510 mg (dry extract)
Blackcurrant berries, the juice, its extracts, and products containing blackcurrant seed oil have been used safely in clinical research. Dosages indicated by the EMA: - Single dose: 2 to 4 g of the crushed plant substance in 200 ml of boiling water as an infusion, 3 times a day. - Daily dose: 6-12 g. - Single dose: 170 mg dry extract (7:1, water), 1 to 3 times a day. Daily dose: 510 mg. - Single dose: 340 mg of powdered plant substance, 3 to 5 times a day. Daily dose: 1020-1700 mg.
Interactions
Médicaments
Diuretics: low interaction
Concurrent use with synthetic diuretics is not recommended.
Precautions
Pregnant women: avoid
There is no established research regarding the effects of using therapeutic blackcurrant-based products taken orally during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Renal insufficiency: use with caution
Blackcurrant leaf is contraindicated in cases of edema related to heart or kidney failure.
Heart disorders: use with caution
Blackcurrant leaf is contraindicated in cases of edema related to heart or kidney failure.
Children up to 18 years: avoid
Use in children and adolescents under 18 years has not been established due to a lack of sufficient data.
Breastfeeding women: avoid
There is no established research regarding the effects of using therapeutic blackcurrant-based products taken orally during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
