Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), also known as the Whortleberry and Blaeberry, is a small shrub found on heaths where it grows to about 60 centimeters tall. You will find many eye formulas that contain bilberry, including Eyesight Rx, a formula that improves close and distant vision within a few days of use. Bilberry herb has more than a dozen anthocyanosides for eye health.

Bilberry dosage
It is not clear at this time what the ideal bilberry dosage would be. For the time being, a dosage of 10 to 100 mg of an extract comprised of 25% anthocyanosides should suffice. This pill need only be taken a few days a week.

Bilberry Extract supplement, 80 mg, 60 Capsules

Bilberry Extract, also referred to as blueberry, is a potent extract yielding key bioflavonoids and antioxidants called anthocyanosides, anthocyanins, ellagitannins, and proanthocyanidins. A controlled extraction process guarantees at least 25% anthocyanosides.

Supplement Facts:
Bilberry Fruit Standardized Extract - 80 mg*
   (Vaccinium myrtillus)
   Yielding 20 mg anthocyanosides

Suggested Use: 1 bilberry capsule a few times a week, or as recommended by your health care professional.
* Bilberry daily value not established.

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Eyesight Rx with Bilberry extract
For improved vision within days, including day and night vision
Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Citrus bioflavonoids (eriocitrin, hesperidin, flavonols, flavones, flavonoids, naringenin, and quercetin)
Mixed Carotenoids (astaxanthin, beta carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, Lycopene, Zeaxanthin)
Bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus)
Eyebright extract (Euphrasia officianales)
Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba)
Suma extract (Pfaffia paniculata)
Mucuna pruriens extract (Cowhage)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Lycium berry extract (Lycium Barbarum) - also known as Goji Berry
Sarsaparilla (Sarsaparilla Smilax)

Bilberry and anthocyanidins
Anthocyanosides are the pharmacologically active constituents of bilberries. They consist of a backbone known as anthocyanidin which is bound to one of three sugars: arabinose, glucose, or galactose. Five different anthocyanidins in bilberry produce more than fifteen different anthocyanosides. The fresh bilberry fruit contains an anthocyanoside concentration of 0.1 to 0.25 percent. A concentrated bilberry extract however yields 25% anthocyanidin content, which corresponds to about 38% anthocyanosides. Bilberries also have phenolic compounds and flavonols. Anthocyanidins include cyanidin, delphinidin, petunidin and malvidin.

Bilberry benefit
The benefit of bilberry rests mostly on its ability to provide substances that are beneficial for eye health. Bilberry may benefit those who have macular degeneration or are predisposed to a cataract. Phenolic compounds in bilberry are of benefit as antioxidants.

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Bilberry availability
Bilberry is sold as a plain extract and in various concentrations such as a 4 to 1 bilberry extract.  You will most often find bilberry added to vision improving herbal formulas that also contain lutein and zeaxanthin.

Side effects
No major adverse effects have been reported in medical journals with the use of bilberry supplements as of January 2009.

Bilberry Herb Research studies
Dietary supplementation with bilberry extract prevents macular degeneration and cataracts in senesce-accelerated OXYS rats.
Fursova AZh, Gesarevich OG, Gonchar AM, Trofimova NA, Kolosova NG.
Adv Gerontol. 2005;16:76-9.
Cataracts and macular degeneration remain the major cause of blindness and acuity of vision deterioration in the elderly. Both pathology have been attributed to damage by free radicals, there has been a great deal of interest in antioxidants. Bilberry's flavonoids are known as potent antioxidants, scavenging free radicals and used for multiple age-releted ocular disorders. There are no experimental studies, devoted to estimation of bilberry effect. To explore this one the senescence-accelerated OXYS rats with early senile cataract and macular degeneration were used. From 1.5 to 3 month OXYS rats were given control diets or those supplemented with 25% bilberry extract (BE, 20 mg on kg of body weight including 4.5 mg of antocianidin) or vitamin E (40 mg/kg) for comparison. The testing at 3 month showed that more then 70% of control OXYS rats had cataract and macular degeneration while the supplementation of bilberry extract completely prevented impairments in the lenses and retina. The VE had no significant effects but both antioxidants decreased lipid peroxides in the retina and serum of OXYS rats. The results suggest that long-term supplementation with bilberry extract is effective in prevention of macular degeneration and cataract.

Inhibition of protein and lipid oxidation in liposomes by berry phenolics.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Dec 1;52(24):7419-24.
The antioxidant activity of berry phenolics such as anthocyanins, ellagitannins, and proanthocyanidins from raspberry (Rubus idaeus), bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), and black currant (Ribes nigrum) was investigated. The antioxidant protection toward lipid oxidation was best provided by lingonberry and bilberry phenolics followed by black currant and raspberry phenolics. Bilberry and raspberry phenolics exhibited the best overall antioxidant activity toward protein oxidation. Proanthocyanidins, especially the dimeric and trimeric forms, in lingonberries were among the most active phenolic constituents toward both lipid and protein oxidation. In bilberries and black currants, anthocyanins contributed the most to the antioxidant effect by inhibiting the formation of both hexanal and protein carbonyls. In raspberries, ellagitannins were responsible for the antioxidant activity. While the antioxidant effect of berry proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins was dose-dependent, ellagitannins appeared to be equally active at all concentrations. In conclusion, berries are rich in monomeric and polymeric phenolic compounds providing protection toward both lipid and protein oxidation.

Effect of lyophilised Vaccinium berries on memory, anxiety and locomotion in adult rats.
Pharmacol Res. 2005 Aug 9; [
Epidemiological studies suggest that diets with a high intake of vegetables and fruits may reduce the incidence of degenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Berries are some of the popular fruits consumed worldwide. They are considered to be rich in anthocyanin pigments, a group belonging to the flavonoids, a widespread class of phenolic compounds. Anthocyanins have notorious pharmacological properties, and have been used in humans for therapeutic purposes. The present experiments were performed to study the possible effects of prolonged administration of lyophilised Vaccinium berries (blueberry, bilberry) on cognitive performance using step-down inhibitory avoidance, open field, elevated plus-maze, and radial maze tasks. During this experiment the rats consumed approximately 3.2mgkg(-1)day (oral), of the anthocyanins. The lyophilised bilberries were administered for 30 days before first training. The present study showed that a lyophilised bilberry significantly enhanced short-term memory, but not long-term memory in the inhibitory avoidance task, and induced an increase in the number of crossings in the first exposure to the open field. However, treated rats did not present any improvement of memory retention in open field habituation. Additionally, prolonged treatment with lyophilised bilberries did not have any significant effects in the elevated plus-maze task. Another interesting finding was that lyophilised bilberries improved working memory in the radial maze, with significant differences observed during sessions 1-2 and 4, but did not alter reference memory in this task. These results suggest that lyophilised bilberries may be beneficial in the prevention of memory deficits, one of the symptoms related to alzheimers disease, and corroborate previous findings showing that flavonoids present effects in several learning paradigms.

Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori in vitro by various berry extracts, with enhanced susceptibility to clarithromycin.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2004 Oct;265(1-2):19-26.
Department of Pediatrics, Creighton University Health Sciences Center, Omaha, NE
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of various berry extracts, with and without clarithromycin on Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori American type culture collection (ATCC) strain 49503 was grown, cell suspensions were made in PBS and diluted 10-fold. One hundred microL of the suspension was then incubated for 18 h with extracts of raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, elderberry, blueberry, bilberry, and OptiBerry, a blend of the six berries, at 0.25-1% concentrations. Serially diluted cell suspensions were exposed for 1 h to clarithromycin at 15 microg/ml. All berry extracts significantly inhibited H. pylori, compared with controls, and also increased susceptibility of H. pylori to clarithromycin, with OptiBerry demonstrating maximal effects.

Isolation of two anthocyanin sambubiosides from bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) by high-speed counter-current chromatography.
J Chromatogr A. 2004 Aug 6;1045(1-2):59-63.
High-speed counter-current chromatography was used for the separation of anthocyanins on a preparative scale from bilberry fruit crude extract (Vaccinium myrtillus, Ericaceae).

Comparison of HPLC methods for determination of anthocyanins and anthocyanidins in bilberry extracts.
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Feb 25;52(4):688-91.
An HPLC method and an acid hydrolysis HPLC method for the analysis of anthocyanins and anthocyanidins in bilberry extracts have been developed. The HPLC method coupled with a mass detector has identified 11 anthocyanins in bilberry extracts. The method provides anthocyanin profiles that are very useful in verifying the identity of botanical raw materials, monitoring the consistency of the raw material source, and quantitating the total anthocyanins. The acid hydrolysis HPLC method greatly simplifies the anthocyanin profile in bilberry samples and converts anthocyanins to five major anthocyanidin aglycones: delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin. Each of these aglycones can be separated completely and quantitated accurately with external standards.

Anthocyanosides of Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) for night vision--a systematic review of placebo-controlled trials.
Surv Ophthalmol. 2004 Jan-Feb;49(1):38-50.
We have systematically reviewed placebo-controlled trials of bilberry -extracted anthocyanosides for evidence of positive effects on night vision. Searches of computerized databases and citations in retrieved articles identified 30 trials with outcome measures relevant to vision in reduced light. Of these, 12 were placebo-controlled. Healthy subjects with normal or above average eyesight were tested in 11 of the 12 trials. The hypothesis that bilberry anthocyanosides improves normal night vision is not supported by evidence from rigorous clinical studies. There is a complete absence of rigorous research into the effects of the bilberry extract on subjects suffering impaired night vision due to pathological eye conditions. Evidence from methodologically weaker trials and auxiliary evidence from animal studies, trials of synthetic anthocyanosides, and a recent randomized controlled trial of Ribes nigrum (black currant) anthocyanosides may warrant further trials of bilberry anthocyanosides in subjects with impaired night vision.

Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and the anthocyanins.
J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Jan 1;51(1):68-75.
Among ethanol extracts of 10 edible berries, bilberry extract was found to be the most effective at inhibiting the growth of HL60 human leukemia cells and HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells in vitro. Bilberry extract induced apoptotic cell bodies and nucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HL60 cells. The proportion of apoptotic cells induced by bilberry extract in HCT116 was much lower than that in HL60 cells, and DNA fragmentation was not induced in the former. Of the extracts tested, that from bilberry contained the largest amounts of phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, and showed the greatest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Pure delphinidin and malvidin, like the glycosides isolated from the bilberry extract, induced apoptosis in HL60 cells. These results indicate that the bilberry extract and the anthocyanins, bearing delphinidin or malvidin as the aglycon, inhibit the growth of HL60 cells through the induction of apoptosis. Only pure delphinidin and the glycoside isolated from the bilberry extract, but not malvidin and the glycoside, inhibited the growth of HCT116 cells.

Complete assignment of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) anthocyanins separated by capillary zone electrophoresis.
Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2004 Feb;52(2):226-9.
Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) mobilities of fifteen anthocyanins in bilberry extract were completely characterized. Four minor anthocyanins in bilberry extract (malvidin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (Mv 3-ara), peonidin 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (Pn 3-gal), peonidin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (Pn 3-ara), and petunidin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (Pt 3-ara)) that remained unidentified in our previous CZE study were isolated from the bilberry extract,

Resveratrol in raw and baked blueberries and bilberries.
J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Sep 24;51(20):5867-70. Lyons MM, Yu C, Toma RB, Cho SY, Reiboldt W, Lee J, van Breemen RB.
Food and Nutritional Science Division, California State University-Long Beach, CA
Resveratrol in the fruits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), the lowbush "wild" blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton), the rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade), and the highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) were measured. Although blueberries and bilberries were found to contain resveratrol, the level of this chemoprotective compound in these fruits was <10% that reported for grapes. Furthermore, cooking or heat processing of these berries will contribute to the degradation of resveratrol.

The effect of bilberry extract nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.
Altern Med Rev. 2000 Apr;5(2):164-73. Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P.
Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, NAS Pensacola, Florida 32508, USA.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of bilberry on night visual acuity (VA) and night contrast sensitivity (CS). This study utilized a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. The subjects were young males with good vision; eight received placebo and seven received active capsules for three weeks. Active capsules contained 160 mg of bilberry extract (25-percent anthocyanosides), and the placebo capsules contained only inactive ingredients. Subjects ingested one active or placebo capsule three times daily for 21 days. After the three-week treatment period, a one-month washout period was employed to allow any effect of bilberry on night vision to dissipate. In the second three-week treatment period, the eight subjects who first received placebo were given active capsules, and the seven who first received active capsules were given placebo. Night VA and night CS was tested throughout the three-month experiment. There was no difference in night VA during any of the measurement periods when examining the average night VA or the last night VA measurement during active and placebo treatments. In addition, there was no difference in night CS during any of the measurement periods when examining the average night CS or the last night CS measurement during active and placebo treatments. The current study failed to find an effect of bilberry on night visual acuity or night CS for a high dose of bilberry taken for a significant duration. Hence, the current study casts doubt on the proposition that bilberry supplementation, in the forms currently available and in the doses recommended, is an effective treatment for the improvement of night vision in this population.

Historical note
Some of you history buffs may recall that during World War II, British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots mentioned that their night vision was clearer whenever they ate bilberry preserves before starting out on their evening bombing raids.

Bilberry extract supplement questions
Q. Is it okay to take a bilberry extract every day along with other multivitamins.
   A. With bilberry extract, as with many supplements, it is a good idea to take a couple of days off a week.

Q. Is bilberry extract an expensive ingredient?
   A. As of November 2008, bilberry extract 25% anthocyanidins was selling at 600 dollars a kilo.

Q. What are the components of bilberry? I saw in the saw palmetto page you listed the components of the berry, so I'm wondering if bilberry's are similar. Also, is bilberry the same as a blueberry?
   A. Bilberries are similar to blueberries but they are not actually the same genus. Anthocyanosides are the pharmacologically active constituents of bilberries. Bilberries also contain phenolic acids and flavonols.