Promising Health Benefits of the Strawberry: A Focus on Clinical Studies

Abstract

The potential health benefits associated with dietary intake of fruits have attracted increasing interest. Among berries, the strawberry is a rich source of several nutritive and non-nutritive bioactive compounds, which are implicated in various health-promoting and disease preventive effects. A plethora of studies have examined the benefits of strawberry consumption, such as prevention of inflammation disorders and oxidative stress, reduction of obesity related disorders and heart disease risk, and protection against various types of cancer. This review provides an overview of their nutritional and non-nutritional bioactive compounds and which factors affect their content in strawberries. In addition, the bioavailability and metabolism of major strawberry phytochemicals as well as their actions in combating many pathologies, including cancer, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, neurodegeneration, along with microbial pathogenesis have been reviewed, with a particular attention to human studies.

Lipid Accumulation in HepG2 Cells Is Attenuated by Strawberry Extract through AMPK Activation

“…Beneficial effects of strawberry consumption comprise a wide range of biological activities, from antioxidant capacity to anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, and anti-proliferative actions [11,12,19,41,42,43]. Epidemiological and clinical studies indicate that acute consumption of strawberry improves postprandial glycemic response, circulating inflammatory markers, and increases plasma antioxidant capacity.…”

“…In addition, some clinical studies observed that strawberry intake ameliorates some atherosclerotic risk factors by reducing circulating levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 [13], and CRP [18,19], decreasing lipid peroxidation [19], and improving lipid profile [13,19,20]. …”

Incorporating freeze-dried strawberry powder into a high-fat meal does not alter postprandial vascular function or blood markers of cardiovascular disease risk: a randomized controlled trial

“…Longerterm strawberry supplementation has been shown to improve multiple CVD risk factors (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25), but less is known about the acute effects of strawberries in the context of a fat-containing meal. A modest attenuation of the 6-h postprandial triglyceride, insulin, and oxidized LDL response was found in overweight hyperlipidemic adults when 10 g freeze-dried strawberry powder was incorporated into a meal with 30 g total fat (26,27).…”

Effects of purified anthocyanin supplementation on platelet chemokines in hypocholesterolemic individuals: a randomized controlled trial

“…Anthocyanins, a category of phenolic flavonoids, are abundant in various fruits, vegetables and beverages and are commonly consumed in the human diet [23–25]. Consumption of anthocyanins beneficially influences inflammatory disorders, the lipid profile, platelet activation and obesity-related disorders [26–29]. Our previous studies have shown that purified anthocyanin supplementation reduces the levels of inflammatory biological markers and improves serum lipids and endothelial function [30–32].…”