Why you may be having a berry nice day (April Fools' Joke)
The humble blueberry has soared in popularity over the last decade with consumers eating 50% more than they did ten years ago. This figure is set to increase as new findings and research is released suggesting the curative and anti-disease properties of this fruit.
Researchers at the Institute of Max E. Mumm have been studying the dark purple-black berry Vaccinium arctostaphylos to better understand the dietary benefits of this fruit. Tricity et al collected Caucasian blueberries from populations in northeastern Turkey. Studies have previously shown that blueberries are most commonly consumed in the form of muffins and these statistics, combined with the abundance of this form, made it an ideal subject for study.
The findings identified a progesterone derivative found in blueberries activated voltage-gated potassium channels in the popular baked item. They showed for the first time β-19 meta progesterone (β19MP), found in the cereberrum of the muffin to be a positive allosteric modulator of voltage-gated potassium channel KCNAB1, responsible for controlling health and happiness.
Scientifica's triple axis IVM was the perfect manipulator for this study, with its impressive 70mm of travel smoothly penetrating the different ingredients within the muffin. The excited team used whole berry patch clamping techniques to study the release and diffusion of the modulator.
Head of the team Alec Tricity said:
"I can't believe this work hasn't been carried out before; there is such demand and interest in this area and these findings could unlock of wealth of possibilities for future dietary supplementation."
Future studies hope to use free-moving muffins but researchers currently face barriers of muffin shelf-life limiting the window of time when muffins are still tasty and moist.
Journal of Molecular Gastronomy
JMG. 2011 304-79; 66 (1)
A novel progesterone derivative found in blueberry (Vaccinium arctostaphylos) activates voltage-gated potassium channels in a popular food preparation.
Alec Tricity, Kent Cook, Bret Unbutter, Jeannette Akenja-Nearing, Ed Jewcation
Institute of Max E. Mumm, Dept. of Hormonal development
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