Advances in berry research: The sixth Biennial Berry Health Benefits Symposium

Studies to advance the potential health benefits of berries continue to increase as was evident at the sixth biennial meeting of the Berry Health Benefits Symposium (BHBS). The two and a half-day symposium was held on October 13–15, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The 2015 BHBS featured new and emerging research further bolstering the positive biological effects of berry consumption on human health, performance, and disease prevention. The papers presented at the 2015 BHBS consisted of invited papers from an international group of leading berry researchers, as well as poster abstracts. Oral sessions were organized around themes including heart health, cancer prevention, gut health/gut microflora, brain aging, metabolism, and berry compositional chemistry. These thematic health areas, while not exhaustive, encompass the more prominent research success stories on berries, the vast majority of which are backed by published animal and human studies. Similar to the past meetings, the research findings at the 2015 BHBS primarily focused on blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, cranberries, red raspberries, and strawberries. However, research on other berry fruits, including chokeberry (aronia berry), cloudberry, blue honeysuckle berry, bilberry, jamun berry, and elderberry, was also featured as was data on major classes of berry polyphenols/phytochemicals including anthocyanins and other flavonoids and their in vivo derived metabolites. The BHBS continues to be a leading forum for interactions between scientists and berry industry stakeholders. The cluster of papers in this issue represents a snapshot of presentations at the 2015 BHBS which support the positive biological effects of berries on human health and diseases.