Wild Duo – Organic Aronia & Haskap Juice 3 L

Aronia and Haskap in Scientific Research

These two berries have been studied to very different depths. Aronia has several human randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses behind it; haskap has two human studies in total. What follows is what those studies actually measured, including the outcomes where they found nothing.

1. Two different polyphenol families

Aronia recorded the highest total anthocyanin concentration of the hundred-plus foods screened in the USDA survey: 1480 mg per 100 g of fresh fruit, against 0.7 mg at the other end of the same table [1]. Its anthocyanins are cyanidin galactosides and arabinosides. Haskap's are glucosides, and they account for about 54% of its total phenolic content, which ranged from 364 to 785 mg per 100 g across eleven cultivars grown in Lithuania [2]. Haskap also supplies iridoids — 128 to 372 mg per 100 g across thirty cultivars, with loganic acid making up 22 to 73% of them — a compound class aronia does not provide [3].

2. Arterial stiffness

In a 12-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 102 prehypertensive middle-aged men and women took an encapsulated aronia (poly)phenol extract. Pulse wave velocity fell by 0.24 m/s and 24-hour peripheral augmentation index by 6.8% against placebo [4]. In the same trial, blood pressure, endothelial function and blood lipids did not change. Three of the authors were employed by the company that supplied the extract.

3. Endothelial function

A separate 12-week randomised, double-blind trial in 66 healthy men measured flow-mediated dilation, an ultrasound measure of how far an artery widens as blood flow rises. Aronia extract improved it by 1.2 percentage points over placebo, and whole fruit powder by 0.9 [5]. The larger trial above found no effect on the same outcome, so the two human trials disagree here. One author was employed by the extract's supplier.

4. Gut microbiota

Both aronia trials tracked the gut microbiome and both saw it shift. The larger reported increased microbial gene richness and greater abundance of the butyrate-producing species Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus and Intestinimonas butyriciproducens [4]. The earlier found no change in overall diversity, but a 10.6% rise in Anaerostipes on the extract and a 193% rise in Bacteroides on whole fruit [5]. Neither measured short-chain fatty acids directly.

5. Inflammation and the body's own antioxidant enzymes

A 2025 systematic review of 18 human studies, using aronia juice, extract or oven-dried powder for four to thirteen weeks, reported reductions in C-reactive protein, TNF-α and IL-6, higher IL-10, and raised activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase [6].

6. Cognitive performance

101 healthy middle-aged adults with overweight took a standardised aronia extract for 24 weeks. Psychomotor speed improved significantly at the 90 mg dose, while attention, cognitive flexibility and serum BDNF did not change [7]. Separately, a 2025 meta-analysis of 59 randomised controlled trials on anthocyanins and anthocyanin-rich foods — none of which used aronia or haskap — found improvements in global cognition, episodic memory and working memory [8]. The aronia trial was co-authored by staff of the extract's manufacturer and used a standardised extract rather than juice.

7. Endurance performance

This is haskap's one performance trial. 30 male recreational runners took 6 g of freeze-dried haskap daily for six days, plus two doses on the test day. Their 5 km time trial improved by about 21 seconds and time to exhaustion by 20 seconds against an isocaloric placebo [9]. The study measured performance rather than recovery; inflammation and oxidative stress markers were not measured.

8. Whether the anthocyanins are absorbed at all

They are, and this was measured directly rather than inferred. Eight participants took a single 500 mg dose of carbon-13-labelled cyanidin-3-glucoside, haskap's dominant anthocyanin. Relative bioavailability was 12.4%, total recovery across urine, breath and faeces 43.9%, and what circulated for up to 48 hours was largely phenolic metabolites rather than the intact anthocyanin [10].

What the studies have not shown

A 2025 GRADE-assessed meta-analysis of 10 aronia trials in 666 participants found no significant effect on anthropometric measures, glycaemic control, lipid profile or blood pressure, and rated the certainty of the evidence as very low across every cardiometabolic marker [11]. For haskap there is no human cardiovascular, lipid or blood-sugar data at all. Neither berry has a human trial on immunity, eye health or skin.

References

1. Wu X, Beecher GR, Holden JM, Haytowitz DB, Gebhardt SE, Prior RL. Concentrations of anthocyanins in common foods in the United States and estimation of normal consumption. J Agric Food Chem. 2006;54(11):4069–4075. PMID 16719536.
2. Česonienė L, Labokas J, Jasutienė I, et al. Bioactive compounds, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of Lonicera caerulea berries: evaluation of 11 cultivars. Plants. 2021;10(4):624. PMID 33806020.
3. Kucharska AZ, Sokół-Łętowska A, Oszmiański J, Piórecki N, Fecka I. Iridoids, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of edible honeysuckle berries (Lonicera caerulea var. kamtschatica Sevast.). Molecules. 2017;22(3):405. PMID 28273885.
4. Le Sayec M, Xu Y, Laiola M, et al. The effects of Aronia berry (poly)phenol supplementation on arterial function and the gut microbiome in middle aged men and women: results from a randomized controlled trial. Clin Nutr. 2022;41(11):2549–2561. PMID 36228567.
5. Istas G, Wood E, Le Sayec M, et al. Effects of aronia berry (poly)phenols on vascular function and gut microbiota: a double-blind randomized controlled trial in adult men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;110(2):316–329. PMID 31152545.
6. Sarıkaya B, Kolay E, Guney-Coskun M, Yiğit-Ziolkowski A, Aktaç Ş. The effect of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) on human inflammation biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Rev. 2025;83(6):1083–1098. PMID 39499790.
7. Ahles S, Stevens YR, Joris PJ, Vauzour D, Adam J, de Groot E, Plat J. The effect of long-term Aronia melanocarpa extract supplementation on cognitive performance, mood, and vascular function: a randomized controlled trial in healthy, middle-aged individuals. Nutrients. 2020;12(8):2475. PMID 32824483.
8. Micek A, Godos J, Giampieri F, et al. The effect of anthocyanins and anthocyanin-rich foods on cognitive function: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. GeroScience. 2025;48(5):6929–6963. PMID 41351717.
9. Howatson G, Snaith GC, Kimble R, Cowper G, Keane KM. Improved endurance running performance following haskap berry (Lonicera caerulea L.) ingestion. Nutrients. 2022;14(4):780. PMID 35215430.
10. Czank C, Cassidy A, Zhang Q, et al. Human metabolism and elimination of the anthocyanin, cyanidin-3-glucoside: a ¹³C-tracer study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(5):995–1003. PMID 23604435.
11. Frumuzachi O, Mocan A, Rohn S, Gavrilaș L. Impact of a chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) supplementation on cardiometabolic outcomes: a critical systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2025;17(9):1488. PMID 40362797.