Effects of on Cardiometabolic Diseases: A Systematic Review of Quasi-Design Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials.

Aronia melanocarpa (Aronia) is a shrub with small berries, chokeberries. Chokeberries are claimed to possess health benefits due to a high content of polyphenols. Aronia is known to be extremely antioxidant; however, evidence for its health benefits is not established. This review gives an overview of the impact of Aronia on cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases. Seventeen studies on cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases were identified through a systematic search on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. Inclusion criteria were studies with Aronia as intervention, performed in individuals with cardiometabolic disease or risk factors, e. g., type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, impaired glucose tolerance, overweight, central obesity and smoking. Four of these studies were applicable for a quantitative analysis. Aronia did not influence body weight, circulating triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or blood pressure. The quantitative analysis revealed a mean reduction in blood glucose of 0.44 mmol/l (P=0.0001) in the treatment group compared with the control group suggesting that Aronia treatment may have a beneficial impact on blood glucose. In addition, treatment durations of 6 weeks to 3 months tended to decrease low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, while shorter treatment durations had no effect on LDL cholesterol. The quantitative analysis did not provide data on long-term effects of Aronia on lipids. More long-term high-quality randomized controlled studies are needed to clarify if dietary supplementation with Aronia has beneficial effects on cardiometabolic diseases.