TABLE 10.
Intake of strawberries on cardiovascular and gut health, 2017–2023
| Reference | Study design | Study duration | Subject characteristics | n | Berry type, quantity | Control | Relevant outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular health | |||||||
| Feresin 2017 [62] | Randomized, double-blind, controlled, parallel-arm trial | 8 wk | Postmenopausal females (mean age 59 y) with pre- or stage 1 hypertension | 60 | FDSP, 25 g/d or 50 g/d | Control powder | 25 g/d: ↓ SysBP1 and PWV1 50 g/d: ↑ NO metabolites1 |
| Holt 2020 [63] | Randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover trial | Acute (1 h), Short-term (1 wk) | Adolescent males (mean age 16 y) | 25 | FDSP, 50 g/d | Isocaloric control powder, devoid of polyphenols | ↑ plasma nitrate and nitrite2 and RHI1 No Δ in platelet reactivity |
| Basu 2021 [64] | Randomized, controlled crossover trial | 14 wk | Males and females (mean age 53 y) with one or more characteristics of MetS | 33 | FDSP, 13 g/d or 32 g/d | Isocaloric control powder | ↓ Total VLDL and chylomicrons2, small VLDL2, and total and small LDL particles2 No Δ in conventional lipid profile |
| Huang 2021 [65] | Randomized, controlled, double-blinded, 2-arm, 2-period crossover trial | 4 wk | Males and females (mean age 53 y) with moderate hypercholesterolemia | 34 | FDSP, 25 g/d | Isocaloric control powder | ↑ FMD (treatment-by-hour effect)1 ↓ SysBP1 No Δ in lipid profile, ApoA, or ApoB |
| Gut health | |||||||
| Ezzat-Zadeh 2021 [66] | Single arm intervention trial (placebo group omitted due to prebiotic content) | 4 wk | Males and females (mean age 30 y) | 14 | FDSP, 26 g/d | N/A | ↑ 20 OTUs1 ↓ 4 OTUs1 No Δ in fecal microbial metabolites or SCFA |
Includes human clinical trials that focus on only one functional food (ie, a single type of nut or berry) with outcomes of known physiologically relevant measures related to vascular function and gut health over the past 5 y (2017–2023). Excludes interventions using mixtures of different types of nuts or berries, nut- or berry-containing meals, and nut or berry extracts or oils. Also excludes interventions where nut or berry intake was in combination with other potentially confounding factors (ie, diet or lifestyle modifications including physical activity and dietary counseling).
Abbreviations: AIx, augmentation index; ALA, alpha-linolenic acid; BP, blood pressure; FDBP, freeze-dried blueberry powder; FDRP, freeze-dried raspberry powder; FDSP, freeze-dried strawberry powder; FMD, flow-mediated dilation; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL:HDL, LDL cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio; MetS, metabolic syndrome; N/a, not applicable; OTU, operational taxonomic unit; OW, overweight; PWV, pulse wave velocity; SCFA, short-chain fatty acids; SysBP, systolic blood pressure; TC, total cholesterol; TC:HDL, total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus.
denotes statistical significance <0.05.
denotes statistical significance <0.001.