Vaccinium arctostaphylos
Species of shrub
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vaccinium arctostaphylos or Caucasian whortleberry is a Eurasian species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color. Its cytology is 2n = 48.[1]
| Vaccinium arctostaphylos | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Vaccinium |
| Section: | Vaccinium sect. Hemimyrtillus |
| Species: | V. arctostaphylos |
| Binomial name | |
| Vaccinium arctostaphylos | |
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to Western Asia (Iran and Turkey), the Caucasus (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Russia), and Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria).[2]
Medicinal effects
In a study on 50 hyperlipidaemic adult patients, an extract of the fruit of V. arctostaphylos was found to have beneficial effects on serum lipid profile and oxidative stress.[3] Each medicinal capsule contained 45 ± 2 mg of anthocyanins.
