Nutrition Researcher Awarded Grant to Study Health Effects of Wild Blueberry Consumption in Adults with High Blood Pressure

Rafaela Feresin, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition, was awarded a grant to study the effects of wild blueberry consumption in Black and white adults with high blood pressure.

The grant of $176,711, from the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, will go toward studying the effects of wild blueberry consumption on gut, brain and cardiovascular health in non-Hispanic Black and white adults with high blood pressure. Approximately 120 million adults in the United States have hypertension, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and renal diseases.

Feresin and colleagues previously have shown that daily consumption of blueberries results in antihypertensive and vascular-protective effects in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage-1 hypertension. Oxidative stress and inflammation were also reduced.

Blueberries’ hypertensive properties may be mainly due to their rich polyphenol content and high antioxidant capacity.

She is currently funded by the USDA to investigate the antihypertensive effects of blackberry and raspberry polyphenols in an animal model of hypertension.

Feresin’s research centers on the role of dietary bioactive compounds to prevent and treat hypertension. Her co-investigators on this project include Tricia King, professor of psychology; Andrew Gewirtz, Regents Professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences; Brett Wong, associate professor of kinesiology and health; Elizabeth Tighe, associate professor of psychology; and Dr. Puja Mehta, associate professor of medicine at Emory University.

Featured Researcher Dr. Rafaela G. Feresin