Bilberry Topics

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Bilberry, Bilberry

They are closely related to North American wild and cultivated blueberries and huckleberries in the genus Vaccinium . The easiest way to distinguish the bilberry is that it produces single or paired berries on the bush instead of clusters, as the blueberry does.

Bilberries are darker in colour, and usually appear near black with a slight shade of blue. While the blueberry's fruit pulp is light green, the bilberry's is red or purple, heavily staining the fingers and lips of consumers eating the raw fruit. The red juice is used by European dentists to show children how to correctly brush their teeth, as any improperly brushed areas will be heavily stained.

Bilberries are softer and juicier than blueberries, making them difficult to transport. Because of these factors, the bilberry is only available raw in gourmet stores, where they can cost up to 25 Euro per pound. Frozen bilberries however are available all year round in most of Europe.

However, a recent study Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P. The effect of bilberry nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Apr;5(2):164-73.

Dietary supplementation with bilberry extract prevents macular degeneration and cataracts in senesce-accelerated OXYS rats. Adv Gerontol. 2005;16:76-9. (Article in Russian) Abstract.

Source: Wikipedia > Bilberry