How yummy and refreshing the elderberry juice is! And, according to scientific studies, also very healthy since it is able to counteract flu even when it has already infected the body! This is the extraordinary result of a very recent research published a month ago in the Journal of Functional Foods thanks to the work of a team of University of Sydney (Torabian et al, March 2019).
The scientists purchased elderberries and turned them into a juice. This juice was applied on cells before, during and after the infection of flu. The researchers observed that elderberry was able to inhibit the infection also in the early stages by blocking some key substances, called hemagglutinins, responsible for the flu proliferation and its entry into the host cells. Moreover, the elderberry had proven also to be able to stimulate the release of cytokines, that are messengers of the immune system used by cells to coordinate the attack against pathogens. Finally, the scientists observed a very surprising effect, the elderberry was effective in counteracting the virus of flu also in later stages, when the cells had already been infected. This activity was reported to be even stronger than the action observed at the early stages of infection. The substance responsible of this effect is an antocyanin compound called Cyn 3-glu that gives also the dark blue color to the elderberries.
You can find the elderberries in the form of syrup, obtained from the berries, that you can dilute in water or in the form of dry extract that you can take into tablets.
