This 'underappreciated' berry can help with weight management, says new study: 'A variety of health benefits'

A new study led by Washington State University researchers found that elderberry juice could be a "potent tool" for weight management and improving metabolic health. 

The study, published in the journal "Nutrients," found that a week of consuming 12 ounces of elderberry juice each day led to positive changes in the gut microbiome, said a release from Washington State University. 

"Elderberry is an underappreciated berry, commercially and nutritionally," said Patrick Solverson, an assistant professor in the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine’s Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. Solverson is one of the corresponding authors of the study. 

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The results of the study are "very exciting," said Solverson, and scientists are "starting to recognize" the value of elderberries for human health. 

Elderberries are small dark purple berries that grow on elder trees, which are native to Europe. They have long been promoted as a way to improve the immune system, noted the Washington State University release. 

The results of the study hint that there could be other potential medicinal uses for the elderberry, said the university. 

"Food is medicine, and science is catching up to that popular wisdom," said Solverson.

"This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that elderberry, which has been used as a folk remedy for centuries, has numerous benefits for metabolic as well as prebiotic health." 

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The study tested the metabolic health of 18 overweight adults. During the experiment, participants drank either 12 ounces of elderberry juice each day, or a placebo that was tinted to look and taste like elderberries. Their diet was otherwise unchanged, said Washington State University. 

After the experiment, the researchers found that those who had consumed elderberry juice "had significantly increased amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, including firmicutes and actinobacteria, and decreased amounts of harmful bacteria, such as bacteroidetes." 

Those who drank elderberry juice had an improved metabolism, said the release. 

"Results showed that the elderberry juice reduced participants’ blood glucose levels by an average of 24%, indicating a significantly improved ability to process sugars following carbohydrate consumption," said Washington State University. Further, those who drank elderberry juice experienced a 9% decrease in their insulin levels.

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Elderberries might also enhance a person's ability to burn fat, said the release. 

"Participants who received the elderberry juice showed significantly increased fat oxidation, or the breakdown of fatty acids, after a high carbohydrate meal and during exercise," said Washington State University. 

Elderberries are high in anthocyanins, which are "plant-based bioactive compounds that have a variety of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and antimicrobial effects." 

These anthocyanins are theorized as to why elderberries have these effects on people, said the release. 

While other berries and foods contain anthocyanins, elderberries have a particularly high concentration of the compounds. 

"A person would have to consume four cups of blackberries a day to achieve the same anthocyanin dose contained in six ounces of elderberry juice," said Solverson.

Fox News Digital reached out to Washington State University for further comment about the study.