Changes

* Diabetes : Similar to what has been discovered with the drug metformin, pterostilbene has been shown to lower blood glucose levels in rats by as much as 56 percent, while simultaneously raising insulin and hemoglobin levels to near normal levels. Pterocarpus marsupium, a tree that contains high levels of pterostilbene in its heartwood, has also showed an anti-diabetic effect in humans, with 67% of participants in a clinical study obtaining control of their blood sugar levels after 12 weeks and an average drop of 32 mg/dl in fasting blood glucose levels.

* Cognitive decline : In a study of 40 19-month-old rats fed either a normal diet or a diet containing blueberry, strawberry, or spinach extracts, the rats that were fed blueberry extracts had a significant reversal in motor-skill decline due to aging as well as other cognitive impairments. All of the diets above, except the normal one, resulted in some reversal or reduction of cognitive decline but none greater than the blueberry group.A similar study with blueberries in a group of adults exhibiting age-related memory decline demonstrated a significant improvement in memory tests after just 12 weeks of drinking blueberry juice.A study out of Tufts University on pterostilbene supplementation in elderly rats showed that pterostilbene conferred significant memory improvement as well.The authors theorized that the memory improvement may be due to pterostilbene's unique ability as an anti-oxidant to cross the blood-brain barrier and co-localize in the hippocampus (the brain's memory center) where it may offer protection against free radical damage.

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