Overview

Chokeberry is a fruit that's commonly eaten as a food in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe.

People use chokeberry for heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other conditions, but there's no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

How does it work ?

Chokeberry contains antioxidants and other chemicals. These chemicals might help to protect the heart and blood vessels, reduce swelling and blood sugar levels, and kill cancer cells.

Uses & Effectiveness ?

Possibly Ineffective for

Insufficient Evidence for

  • High cholesterol. Early research shows that drinking chokeberry juice daily might lower cholesterol levels by a small amount in people with high cholesterol.
  • High blood pressure. Some early research shows that drinking chokeberry juice might lower blood pressure by a small amount in people with high blood pressure. But not all research agrees. All studies to date have been short-term. Higher-quality, long-term research is needed.
  • A grouping of symptoms that increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke (metabolic syndrome). Early research shows that taking a specific chokeberry extract or drinking a juice containing chokeberry extract might lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels in people with metabolic syndrome.
  • Obesity. Early research shows that drinking chokeberry juice enriched with glucomannan fiber lowers body weight and blood pressure by a small amount in people who are obese. The people in this study were not dieting and exercising. So, it's unclear how chokeberry juice compared to dieting or exercise.
  • Infections of the kidney, bladder, or urethra (urinary tract infections or UTIs). Early research in elderly adults living in nursing homes shows that drinking chokeberry juice daily does not decrease the risk of having a bladder infection.
  • An eye disease that leads to vision loss in older adults (age-related macular degeneration or AMD).
  • Breast cancer.
  • Cadmium toxicity.
  • Cellulite.
  • Common cold.
  • Conditions in a man that prevent him from getting a woman pregnant within a year of trying to conceive (male infertility).
  • Diabetes.
  • Infants with birth weight below the 10th percentile due to inadequate nutrition.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
  • Other conditions.
More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of chokeberry for these uses.

Side Effects

When taken by mouth Drinking chokeberry juice or taking chokeberry extract as medicine is POSSIBLY SAFE for most adults. Side effects from chokeberry juice are rare but may include constipation or diarrhea.

Special Precautions and Warnings

When taken by mouth Drinking chokeberry juice or taking chokeberry extract as medicine is POSSIBLY SAFE for most adults. Side effects from chokeberry juice are rare but may include constipation or diarrhea. Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if chokeberry is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.

Diabetes: Chokeberry might lower blood sugar. Watch for signs of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and monitor your blood sugar carefully if you have diabetes and use chokeberry.

Interactions ?

    Moderate Interaction

    Be cautious with this combination

  • Medications that slow blood clotting (Anticoagulant / Antiplatelet drugs) interacts with CHOKEBERRY

    Chokeberry might slow blood clotting. Taking chokeberry along with medications that also slow clotting might increase the chances of bruising and bleeding.
    Some medications that slow blood clotting include aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn, others), dalteparin (Fragmin), enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, warfarin (Coumadin), and others.

  • Medications for diabetes (Antidiabetes drugs) interacts with CHOKEBERRY

    Chokeberry might lower blood sugar. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar. Taking chokeberry along with diabetes medications might cause blood sugar to go too low. Monitor your blood sugar closely. The dose of your diabetes medication might need to be changed.
    Some medications used for diabetes include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glipizide (Glucotrol), tolbutamide (Orinase), and others.

  • Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates) interacts with CHOKEBERRY

    Some medications are changed and broken down by the liver. Chokeberry might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down some medications. Taking chokeberry along with some medications that are broken down by the liver can increase the effects and side effects of some medications.
    Some medications changed by the liver include lovastatin (Mevacor), ketoconazole (Nizoral), itraconazole (Sporanox), fexofenadine (Allegra), triazolam (Halcion), and many others.

  • Trabectedin (Yondelis) interacts with CHOKEBERRY

    Trabectedin (Yondelis) is changed and broken down by the liver. Chokeberry might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down trabectedin. Taking chokeberry along with trabectedin might increase the effects and side effects of trabectedin.

Dosing

The appropriate dose of chokeberry depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for chokeberry. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using.
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CONDITIONS OF USE AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This information is meant to supplement, not replace advice from your doctor or healthcare provider and is not meant to cover all possible uses, precautions, interactions or adverse effects. This information may not fit your specific health circumstances. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider because of something you have read on WebMD. You should always speak with your doctor or health care professional before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your health care plan or treatment and to determine what course of therapy is right for you.

This copyrighted material is provided by Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version. Information from this source is evidence-based and objective, and without commercial influence. For professional medical information on natural medicines, see Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Professional Version.
© Therapeutic Research Faculty 2020.