COUNTRY EXPLORER / CHILE / RESEARCH BRIEF
Chile
Maqui: laboratory cancer research, glucose responses and dry-eye studies
Evidence at a glance
A focused botanical research brief, with cancer first and other chronic disease and health questions afterward. Country labels provide geographic context; plants and traditions cross borders, and some studies were conducted elsewhere. This is a selected evidence review, not a national disease-burden survey or a treatment guide.
Cancer
Maqui and endometrial cancer cells
Laboratory evidence · not a human cancer treatment. A 2021 study exposed an endometrial cancer cell line to a hydroethanolic maqui extract. It found reduced cell viability, increased apoptosis and reduced invasiveness. This experiment did not test an oral treatment in people. Laboratory concentrations cannot be translated into a supplement dose, and the study does not establish tumor response, survival or safety during cancer therapy. Endometrial cell-line study
Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis) is an interesting research lead. A fruit, a concentrated extract and an anticancer medicine require different evidence; the study above only supports further investigation.
Other chronic disease and health
Prediabetes and glucose responses
Exploratory human study · acute effects. An open study in 36 people with prediabetes examined a proprietary maqui extract around oral glucose testing. Some glucose and insulin measurements and peak responses changed, but total glucose exposure across the test did not improve. The design does not establish lasting glucose control or prevention of diabetes. Glucose study
Dry eyes and screen-related symptoms
Short placebo-controlled trial · encouraging symptom evidence. A Japanese trial randomized 74 adults with eye dryness and prolonged screen use to a standardized maqui extract or placebo for four weeks. The extract group had greater tear production on Schirmer testing and improvement in some reported symptoms. This is a short study of a specific product and population, not evidence for preventing blindness or treating cancer-related eye problems. Dry-eye trial
Clinical interpretation and safety
Eating a berry and taking a concentrated extract are different exposures. These studies do not establish long-term supplement safety or compatibility with cancer medicines. People using glucose-lowering medication should discuss concentrated products with their care team rather than interpreting an acute glucose study as a dosing guide.
What would change the picture? Independent, longer placebo-controlled studies for metabolic and eye outcomes, and appropriate preclinical development before any cancer-treatment claim. The most clinically developed signal in this selection concerns eye symptoms, not cancer control.
Research checked: 23 October 2026. Study preparations are described to distinguish the evidence, not to recommend self-treatment. Botanical illustration is interpretive.
