Supplementing diet with Manitoba lingonberry juice reduces kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury

Lingonberry can be found growing wild in the northern regions of Canada. These berries contain more anthocyanins, the pigments that give them their red color, per gram than most commonly consumed berries and these compounds may provide health benefits. This study used a model of kidney injury in rats where the blood vessels to the kidney are blocked so the tissue does not receive oxygen or nutrients. This type of blockage is the same type of injury that happens in the heart during a heart attack or in the brain during a stroke. In this study, after the period of blockage, blood flow was restored to the kidney. This flow restoration can contribute to tissue injury and lead to organ failure as occurs in acute kidney injury. After this flow stoppage and restoration, the researchers found that the rat kidneys had impaired function and that there were increased markers for stress and inflammation in the kidney as well as in the blood. However, a comparative group of rats that were fed the same diet supplemented with 1 mL of Manitoba lingonberry juice (human-equivalent of 1 cup) prior to the injury had restored kidney function, reduced kidney stress, and reduced inflammatory markers. These novel results demonstrate for the first time that consumption of anthocyanin and antioxidant-rich lingonberry juice prior to injury due to flow blockage and restoration can reduce the inflammatory response and improve kidney function. This study shows that a preventative dietary approach can be used to alleviate acute kidney injury, a postoperative complication that has resulted in millions of deaths worldwide.