In tests, volunteers who took an extract of the "superfruit" in a pill form before and after exercise suffered less muscle damage and inflammation.

Researchers say compounds called flavonoids in the berries protect the body from the stresses of working out.

The experiment, led by Dr Roger Hurst at New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, monitored the impact of blackcurrant extract on 10 untrained volunteers.

Those who took the blackcurrant pill before and after daily moderate exercise had fewer signs of "oxidative stress" and muscle damage. Their bodies also had fewer signs of inflammation.

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WHY do some widows and widowers quickly follow their spouses to the grave? It seems the so-called widowhood effect could be caused by the combined effects of stress and age-related changes in the immune system.

Previous studies found that among elderly men and women the risk of dying within three months of being widowed increases between 30 and 90 per cent. It had been suggested that this might be connected with changes in the immune system, yet exactly how was unclear.

Now new research has identified some of those changes, and shown that increased cortisol levels caused by stressful events such as bereavement worsen the situation.

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, or DHEAS, is best known as an intermediary of sex hormones like testosterone and oestrogen, yet it also has a role in the immune system. While cortisol dampens immune responses, DHEAS boosts them. Levels of DHEAS usually peak and begin declining when ...

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The Cassis Berry has been used for centuries as a cure for many ailments, and is now re-emerging with the science to back up these traditional claims.
In a recent article posted on Modern Healt Observation highlights the extrordinary ability of flavonoids and anthocyanins that act on inflammatory mediators by inhibiting the formation of prostaglandins.

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A recent study out of New Zealand reports that a certain compound (epigallocatechin), a known antioxidant and a major component of proanthocyanidins found in blackcurrants, could reduce inflammation in lung tissue. The findings indicate a potential benifit to the increasing number of people suffering from Asthma.

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Source: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200900297
“Blackcurrant proanthocyanidins augment IFN-gamma-induced suppression of IL-4 stimulated CCL26 secretion in alveolar epithelial cells”
Authors: S.M. Hurst, T.K. McGhie, J.M. Cooney, D.J. Jensen, E.M. Gould, K.A. Lyall, R.D. Hurst