Berry study
A research study explored whether a black elderberry liquid supplement could reduce the severity of symptoms in people with COVID-19.
The study focused on adults who had recently tested positive for COVID-19. The aim was to find out whether taking a commercially available black elderberry product could safely reduce how severe people’s symptoms felt during the early stages of infection.
Background
COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and can lead to a wide range of symptoms. These commonly include fever, cough, tiredness, sore throat, diarrhoea, and loss of taste or smell. For many people symptoms are mild, but others experience more prolonged or severe illness.
There has been interest in natural products that may support the immune system during viral infections. Black elderberry has previously been studied in laboratory settings and in people with influenza, where some antiviral effects have been observed. This study explored whether black elderberry could offer similar benefits for people with COVID-19.
Study design
Between January 2021 and March 2022, 204 adults with a confirmed COVID-19 infection were recruited into the study.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received a black elderberry liquid, while the other group received a placebo that looked and tasted the same but did not contain elderberry. Both treatments were taken at a dose of 15 ml, four times a day.
Participants recorded how well they felt overall and how severe their individual symptoms were over a 28-day period following their positive COVID-19 test. Researchers focused particularly on the first 10 days, as COVID-19 symptoms usually improve within one to two weeks.
Findings
The black elderberry supplement was generally well tolerated. No serious side effects were reported during the study. 10% of participants reported mild symptoms that may have been linked to the supplement, most commonly temporary staining of the lips or tongue, and mild dizziness or disorientation.
When comparing symptom reports, participants who took black elderberry showed slightly greater improvement in how well they felt during the first 10 days compared with those who received the placebo. However, this difference was small and did not reach the level needed to be certain it was due to the supplement rather than chance.
After 28 days, there was no difference between the two groups, with most participants reporting that their symptoms had improved regardless of which treatment they received.
Impact on patients
Overall, people taking black elderberry did not experience harm and some reported feeling slightly better during the early phase of their illness. However, the improvement seen was modest. When looking at common COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell, there was no clear difference between those who took black elderberry and those who took the placebo.
What this means
This study suggests that black elderberry is safe to take for people with COVID-19 and does not cause serious side effects. While there was a small trend towards improved wellbeing in the early days of infection, the evidence was not strong enough to confirm that black elderberry reduces COVID-19 symptom severity.
Changes during the study period, including the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the emergence of different virus variants such as Omicron, may have influenced the results.
Next steps
Further research with larger participant numbers and more consistent virus variants would be needed to determine whether black elderberry has a meaningful role in managing symptoms of COVID-19.