The science behind haskap berries, mood, and the surprisingly active compounds in your daily dose
By Julie Weston, Haskapa Lead Nutritionist
If you’re already taking haskap berry powder, you probably know it’s good for you. But you might not know quite why - or that the same compounds responsible for its deep, jewel-like colour are now the subject of some genuinely exciting research into mental wellbeing. Here’s what scientists are discovering.
It starts with colour
The rich purple hue of haskap berries comes from natural plant compounds called anthocyanins (pronounced an-tho-sigh-an-ins). These are found in many deeply coloured fruits including blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrants but haskap consistently ranks among the highest sources of all, with some analyses showing higher concentrations than any of them.
Anthocyanins belong to a broader family of plant chemicals called polyphenols, which your body can use in some remarkable ways. For a long time, we thought their main job was acting as antioxidants - protecting your cells from damage. That’s still true. But scientists are now finding they may also have a meaningful effect on your mood.
Haskap berries consistently rank among the richest natural sources of anthocyanins available — rivalling or exceeding blueberries and blackcurrants in concentration.
What the research shows
Most of the clinical trials so far have used blueberries as their berry of choice - simply because they’ve been studied longest. But the findings are directly relevant to haskap, given its comparable (and often superior) anthocyanin profile. Here’s what those studies have found:
• Teenagers: In a small trial, young people aged 12–17 who took a daily wild blueberry supplement for four weeks reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those who took a placebo.
• Young adults with low mood: A single blueberry drink produced noticeable improvements in positive mood and mental sharpness within just two hours.
• Adults with diagnosed depression or anxiety: A 12-week study using freeze-dried blueberry powder found potential improvements in both depression and anxiety symptoms.
Blackcurrant juice has also shown benefits - improving alertness and mental energy during demanding tasks, partly by increasing blood flow to the brain. Given that haskap shares a similarly rich anthocyanin profile with both blueberries and blackcurrants, it’s well placed to deliver the same kind of effects. Indeed, a pilot trial from the University of Reading tested three different doses of haskap berry extract in adults aged 62–81, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. The higher doses produced significant improvements in memory and reductions in blood pressure compared to placebo. Mood results were mixed, and more trials are currently underway.
The overall picture from existing research is one of genuine possibility — particularly for younger people and those already experiencing low mood. This is still a growing field, and scientists agree more large-scale studies are needed. But the signals are consistent and meaningful.
Why might this work?
There are three main ways scientists think anthocyanins could influence mood:
• Better blood flow to the brain. Anthocyanins help support healthy blood vessels, which may increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain. This is thought to explain the quick improvements in alertness and mood seen in some trials.
• Calming inflammation. Low-grade inflammation in the body is increasingly linked to low mood and depression. Anthocyanins have anti-inflammatory properties that may help bring this down.
• Feeding your gut bacteria. A significant portion of the anthocyanins you consume travel all the way to your large intestine, where your gut bacteria break them down into other useful compounds. These may then communicate with your brain via what scientists call the gut–brain axis, potentially influencing mood and mental wellbeing from the inside out.
What this means for you
If you’re already incorporating haskap berry powder into your routine, you’re ahead of the curve. The research is pointing increasingly toward high-anthocyanin foods as a genuinely useful part of supporting mental wellbeing.
· Regular consumption of anthocyanin-rich foods like haskap berry is supported by a growing body of evidence for mood and mental wellbeing.
• Even a single serving may produce a short-term boost to mood and mental sharpness, based on current evidence.
• The benefits work through multiple routes - blood flow, inflammation, and gut health - which is why consistent, daily intake makes sense.
• Berries are one piece of the puzzle — not a replacement for professional support if you’re experiencing significant depression or anxiety.
The bottom line: The science of food and mood is moving fast, and anthocyanin-rich berries - haskap very much included - are an important part of the picture. Whether you're already including haskap in your daily routine or just starting to explore it, the evidence gives you good reason to.
References
- Logan AC, Jacka FN. Nutritional psychiatry research: an emerging discipline and its intersection with global urbanization, environmental challenges and the evolutionary mismatch. J Physiol Anthropol. 2014.
- Fisk J, et al. Effect of 4 weeks daily wild blueberry supplementation on mood in adolescents. PubMed. 2020.
- Velichkov M, et al. Acute and chronic wild blueberry supplementation on mood, executive function and biomarkers in emerging adults with depressive symptoms. Springer. 2024.
- Venable KE, et al. Effects of blueberry supplementation on depression and anxiety symptoms. MDPI. 2025.
- Watson AW, et al. Acute supplementation with blackcurrant extracts: mood and cognition (DB-RCT crossover). ScienceDirect. 2015.
- Watson AW, et al. Impact of blackcurrant juice on attention, mood and cognition. PubMed. 2019.
- Watson AW, et al. Blackcurrant juice extract increases cerebral blood flow during cognitive demand. Taylor & Francis Online. 2025.
- Whyte AR, Schafer G, Williams CM, Butler LT. A pilot dose–response study of the acute effects of haskap berry extract (Lonicera caerulea L.) on cognition, mood, and blood pressure in older adults. . 2019;11(11):2813.
- Mestrom A, et al. Higher anthocyanin intake associated with lower depressive symptomatology. PMC. 2023/2024.
- Fernández-Demeneghi R, et al. Positioning berries in nutritional psychiatry. Frontiers. 2025.
- Ali S, et al. Systematic review: dietary flavonoids and symptoms of depression. MDPI. 2021.
- Colombage RL, et al. Effects of dietary flavonoids on mood and mental health: systematic review of human experimental studies. OUP Academic. 2025.
- Ali S, et al. Systematic review: dietary flavonoids and symptoms of depression. MDPI. 2021.
- Dingeo G, Brito A, Samouda H, Iddir M, La Frano MR, Bohn T. Phytochemicals as modifiers of gut microbial communities. Food Funct. 2020
- Fernández-Demeneghi R, et al. Positioning berries in nutritional psychiatry. Frontiers. 2025.
- Rupasinghe HPV, Arumuggam N, Amararathna M, De Silva ABKH. The potential health benefits of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.): Role of cyanidin‑3‑O‑glucoside. J Funct Foods. 2018