New Jersey: Blueberries may prevent colon cancer, a new US study has discovered.

The fruit which has already been labelled a “superfood” because it contains the anti-ageing compound pterostilbene, which could prevent cancer in humans.

Scientists at Rutger University in New Jersey and the US Department of Agriculture said that a pilot study on rats showed that those fed the anti-ageing compound had 57% fewer pre-cancer lesions in their colons. They carried out the experiment on two groups of rats all of which were fed a cancer causing compound called azoxymethan – the group given pterostilbene had least cancer.

Dr Bandaru Reddy, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers said the blueberry compound was not a cure for cancer but might offer protection against the disease in humans.

It also appeared to reduce the rate at which cancer cells proliferate and inhibited certain genes involved in inflammation.

As well as having anti-ageing properties blueberries are also thought to help with memory loss.