Effect of berry-derived phenolic products on blood lipid profiles: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Berries, rich in phenolics with a C-ring, have numerous biological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, regulating blood lipid metabolism, which is beneficial to human health. This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials to verify the effect of berry-derived phenolic products (BDPP) supplementation on blood lipid profiles, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). Thirty-seven clinical trials (2161 participants) fulfilled the eligibility criteria of the meta-analysis. A random effect model was applied in the meta-analysis, and results were expressed as WMD (weighted mean differences) with 95% CI (confidence intervals). Meta-analysis showed that BDPP supplementation resulted in a reduction in the TG (WMD = −0.08), TC (WMD = −0.14), and LDL-c (WMD = −0.27), respectively; however, an increase trend was in the HDL-c (WMD = 0.05). In addition, subgroup analysis indicated that long-term duration of BDPP (≥8 weeks) was more effective to the regulation of the blood lipid on the non-healthy and American subjects. Blood lipid regulation of BDPP intake may be attributed to their content and compounds of phytochemicals, mainly including phenolic acids, proanthocyanins and flavonoids.