Not just carrots: Study shows that bog bilberry can protect your eyes against blue light emitted by electronic devices

Blue light is the light emitted from cell phones and other gadgets. It can cause lasting damage to your eyes and may even lead to blindness. To protect the eyes from this harmful light, researchers from Kyung Hee University in South Korea suggest taking bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum). They found that bog bilberry has protective effects against retinal damage caused by blue light.

In their study, which appeared in the journal Nutrition Research, the researchers hypothesized that the polyphenols in bog bilberry extract can protect retinal pigment epithelial cells from damage caused by blue light. To test this hypothesis, they first obtained bog bilberry extracts using water, ethanol, and HP20 resin as extraction solvents. They then analyzed the extracts and found that the resin fraction had the highest polyphenol activity.

Therefore, the researchers isolated the active compounds present in the resin fraction. They found that it contained flavonoids, anthocyanins, phenylpropanoids, and iridoids. They treated cell cultures with bog bilberry extract and its active components before exposing them to blue light. The results showed that treatment with bog bilberry extract and each of its active components reduced cell death and inhibited A2E accumul