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Journal of Cellular Physiology

Blueberry extract eased signs of testicular aging in mice

An experiment in middle-aged mice found that a blueberry extract restored sperm movement and reversed degeneration of the tubes where sperm develop.

Paper by Lu Guo, Zi'ang Zhang, Mengwei Zhang, +6 more authorsKang Zou · College of Animal Science and Technology Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing China
Graphical abstract from Journal of Cellular Physiology
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Graphical abstract. Guo et al.

Our read

Interventions
Studied:
Experiments in middle-aged mice
What changed:
Blueberry extract restored sperm movement
The catch:
Sperm movement is an indirect measure of fertility

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
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Middle-aged mice received a blueberry extract rich in anthocyanins, plant pigments, in an animal experiment on reproductive aging. The researchers monitored the animals’ bodily functions, examined testicular tissue and analyzed gene activity and small molecules in the testes.

The extract prevented age-associated physiological deterioration without detectable toxicity. It reversed degeneration of the tubes where sperm develop and restored sperm movement. It also lowered inflammatory proteins in the testes and throughout the body. The combined molecular analyses pointed to three coordinated sets of signals involving cell multiplication, inflammation and metabolism, rather than one pathway. The authors reported that the extract stimulated sperm precursor cells to multiply while reducing inflammatory signaling.

Why it matters

Age-related inflammation may contribute to declining male reproductive function. The authors propose that targeting inflammation and metabolism together could help preserve reproductive function with age.

Caveats

Sperm movement is an indirect measure of fertility. These results came from middle-aged mice and do not establish benefits in men.

Where the evidence stands

Inflammation

Cells, worms or flies, mice and humans: replicated by independent labs.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

Includes the processes named after it and trials of drugs aimed at it.

  • 1,051 independent labs in 77 countries
  • 205 findings against
  • Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China and others
  • 382 of 4,623 findings with company ties

Amino acid metabolism

Mice: replicated by independent labs. Cells, worms or flies and humans: a single group.

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

Includes the processes named after it and trials of drugs aimed at it.

  • 57 independent labs in 19 countries
  • 2 findings against
  • Funders: National Institutes of Health and others
  • 10 of 65 findings with company ties

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The paper

Blueberry Anthocyanins Alleviate Testicular Aging in Middle‐Aged Mice by Targeting Inflammaging and Reprogramming the cAMP–Wnt and Methionine–NAD ⁺ Metabolic Axes

Lu Guo, Zi'ang Zhang, Mengwei Zhang, +6 more authorsKang Zou

College of Animal Science and Technology Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing China

Journal of Cellular Physiology, Nov 11, 2026

doi.org/10.1002/jcp.70258

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