Elderberry went on holiday: the flight trial

A randomised trial of 312 long haul air travellers found elderberry extract did not stop anyone catching a cold, but the travellers who took it and did get sick had a shorter, milder illness than the placebo group. That is the whole finding: not a shield, but a softer landing once you are already sick.

Elderberry is the ingredient people ask us about most, usually after seeing it called an immune shield somewhere. Here is the trial everyone cites, and what it actually found.

What did the trial set out to test?

Researchers recruited 312 economy class passengers flying long haul out of Australia. Half received a standardised elderberry extract, half received a placebo, and nobody, including the researchers, knew who had which until the end.

Air travel is a smart thing to study. It is a reliable way to expose a large group of people to the same unpleasant conditions on roughly the same schedule, which is otherwise hard to arrange ethically.

What actually happened?

Roughly the same number of people got sick in both groups. Elderberry did not stop anyone catching anything. If it were a shield, this is where it would have shown up, and it did not.

The people taking elderberry who did get sick had a shorter and milder time of it. Fewer days, lower symptom scores.

So: shorter and gentler rather than a force field. That is a real finding and a modest one, and modest findings are our favourite kind, because they tend to hold up.

What was measured	Elderberry group	Placebo group
Travellers in the trial	156	156
Got sick at all	About the same	About the same
Days sick, once ill	Fewer	More
Symptom scores, once ill	Lower	Higher

What does this not mean?

It does not mean elderberry prevents illness. The trial specifically looked for that and did not find it.

It also does not mean one trial settles the question. This was a single study of a few hundred people in one fairly specific situation. It is good evidence, not final evidence, and elderberry research generally is thinner than the confidence of the average product label would suggest.

Why extract rather than syrup?

One detail worth carrying into the shop. A lot of elderberry products are syrups or gummies, which means a lot of what you are swallowing is sugar.

We use 500 mg of elderberry extract per serving, in a capsule, with the amount printed on the label. Whether 500 mg of a given extract compares neatly to the preparation used in the trial is exactly the kind of question we think you should ask of everyone, including us.

What is the short summary?

Elderberry earns its place in the formula as a traditional botanical with one decent supporting trial and a sensible mechanism. It does not earn a promise, so we are not making one.

The elderberry amount in Moat and the trial behind it are on the elderberry ingredient page, alongside the vitamin C and D3 that sit next to it in the same bottle.

FAQ

Does elderberry prevent colds or flu? No. In the trial, roughly the same number of people got sick whether they took elderberry or a placebo.

Does elderberry help once you are already sick? The trial found a shorter, milder illness in the elderberry group who did get sick, fewer days and lower symptom scores.

How much elderberry is in Moat? 500 mg of elderberry extract per serving, in a capsule, with the amount printed on the label.

Is elderberry syrup the same as elderberry extract in a capsule? Not necessarily. Syrups and gummies often carry a lot of sugar alongside the elderberry, and how their extract compares to the one used in the trial is worth asking.

Sources

• Tiralongo et al., Elderberry supplementation reduces cold duration and symptoms in air-travellers, Nutrients

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.