Tests blueberry powder diet in people with colitis
Tests a blueberry-rich diet against a blueberry-poor diet in adults with chronic colitis.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Wild Blueberries in Colitis
Key facts
- Where
- Bamberg, GermanySee the site
Where in Germany
- Sozialstiftung BambergBamberg, GermanyTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Universität Duisburg-Essen
- Trial code
- NCT06698601
- Record updated
- 1 October 2026
- Original description
The goal of this exploratory, prospective, monocentric randomized crossover study is to investigate the influence of a blueberry-rich diet compared to a blueberry-poor diet on the microbiome, the intestinal barrier and the inflammatory process in IBD patients with chronic colitis.Read full original descriptionShow less
Impact of Wild Blueberries (Vaccinium Myrtillus) on the Intestinal Barrier, Microbiome and Inflammation in Chronic Colitis - a Prospective Randomized Crossover Study
The goal of this exploratory, prospective, monocentric randomized crossover study is to investigate the influence of a blueberry-rich diet compared to a blueberry-poor diet on the microbiome, the intestinal barrier and the inflammatory process in IBD patients with chronic colitis.
The main question the study aims to answer is:
* Does a diet rich in blueberries compared to a diet low in blueberries have an influence on disease activity, intestinal inflammation and symptoms in IBD patients with chronic colitis?
Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (MC) patients are recruited during an inpatient stay at the Clinic for Internal and Integrative Medicine in Bamberg, Germany. During their routine inpatient stay, patients are treated by an interdisciplinary team using a comprehensive multimodal integrative inpatient therapy concept that combines conventional medicine with a wide range of integrative non-pharmacological treatments, phytotherapy, lifestyle-modification and nutritional therapy. During this time, it is verified whether the patients can participate in the study.
The study consists of two study arms, which are conducted in a cross-over design:
* Intervention arm: in this study arm, participants receive 12 weeks of blueberry therapy in addition to the regular two weeks of inpatient care at the Clinic for Internal and Integrative Medicine in Bamberg. The blueberry therapy includes drinking around 35 g of blueberry powder stirred into water once a day for 12 weeks. * Control arm: in this study arm, participants receive the standard therapy (integrative medical therapy concept described above) during the regular two-week hospital stay. There is no additional blueberry intake.
Due to the crossover study design, all participants undergo both study arms. This means that each participant takes the supplementary blueberry powder (intervention) for a period of 3 months and the control therapy for 3 months. The order in which the participants receive the forms of therapy is determined randomly. Thus, half of the study participants start the supplementary blueberry intake directly after the inpatient stay, the second half three months later (cross-over principle).
UC and MC patients will:
* initially receive a clinically indicated colonoscopy with confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) during their routine inpatient stay at the Clinic for Internal and Integrative Medicine in Bamberg * return to the clinic for an optional sigmoidoscopy with CLE after 12 and 24 weeks * answer questionnaires at study start as well as after 12 and 24 weeks to analyze their quality of life, the severity of their symptoms and their disease activity * give samples of blood, urine, stool and bile fluid as well as intestinal biopsies during the colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy at study start as well as after 12 and 24 weeks * document their intake of blueberry powder as well as their symptoms and stool frequencies in a diary throughout the study participation
Inclusion: age > 18 years; diagnosis of Crohn's Disease (CD) or Ulcerative Colitis (UC) for at least 6 months with mild to moderate chronic colitis (CD: Harvey-Bradshaw-Index Score 5-16; UC: Partial Mayo Score 2-6 and a Mayo endoscopy subscore of 1-2) or in clinical remission (CD: Harvey-Bradshaw-Index Score 0-4; UC: Partial Mayo Score 0-1 and a Mayo endoscopy subscore of 0); stable IBD-specific medication dosage for at least 3 months [such as thiopurines or biologicals (therapeutic antibodies such as infliximab, adalimumab, vedolizumab, etc.)]; inpatient admission to the Department for Internal and Integrative Medicine at the Sozialstiftung Bamberg, Germany for regular treatment; clinical indication and performance of an initial colonoscopy with confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE) or a sigmoidoscopy with CLE, if a colonoscopy has already been performed within the last 6 months and previous findings are available; signed informed consent form.
Exclusion: IBD without previously diagnosed inflammation of the colon (e.g. Crohn's Disease without colitis); high regular consumption of blueberries (≥ 300 g cultivated blueberries or ≥ 150 g wild blueberries per week) or administration of blueberry therapy in the last 3 months; presence of known serious infectious diseases e.g. of the liver such as HIV, hepatitis B and C infection; active flare of IBD with CRP ≥ 100 mg/l; artificial bowel outlet in front of the colon (ileostomy); participation in another therapeutic study within the last 30 days; Known intolerance to blueberries or their ingredients such as contained anthocyanins or fructose (e.g. clinically relevant fructose malabsorption).