A six-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study in older adults with overweight or obesity found that daily supplementation with 40 mg anthocyanins from Aronia melanocarpa extract improved executive function without broadly altering vascular markers. While cerebral blood flow in predefined brain regions remained unchanged, a localized decrease was observed in the right insular cortex, the clinical relevance of which is unclear. Notably, spatial working memory performance improved by about 20 percent, indicating sharper executive control, with no effects on memory, psychomotor speed, cerebral perfusion, or peripheral vascular function. These findings suggest that aronia anthocyanins may support cognitive resilience in at-risk aging populations through mechanisms beyond classic vascular pathways.
Source : https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0261561425003401
