Chronic Diseases Prevention Review Vol. 9 NO.34 2025

: Aging is accompanied by progressive declines in cognitive function and increased neurodegenerative diseases, mainly caused by oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired synaptic plasticity. Dietary interventions have been shown to be low-risk strategies to slow brain aging, with blueberries standing out for their high levels of phytochemicals, such as anthocyanins and other polyphenols, and their high antioxidant capacity. This mini review summarizes the anti-aging and anti-brain aging effects of blueberries across cellular, animal, and human studies, particularly emphasizing different types of blueberries, including wild (lowbush), northern highbush, southern highbush, rabbiteye, and half-high. The mechanisms of these anti-brain-aging effects of blueberries were summarized at the cellular level, reducing age-related oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, and at the molecular level, modulating multiple key signaling pathways, such as Nrf2, MAPK, and sirtuin-related pathways. Current issues and future studies on this topic are also outlined, such as the lack of comparative studies across blueberry types, various forms of blueberry supplements, insufficient dose-response investigations, and inconsistent intervention periods. All these limitations result in inconsistent, even controversial, conclusions on the blueberry’s anti-brain-aging effects. Overall, current evidence supports the potential of dietary blueberries to promote healthy brain aging and to be a promising dietary strategy for cognitive resilience, although more comprehensive studies are needed. Open Access Download (free) PDF Full article