Bilberries are high in substances called flavonoids and have antioxidant and disease-fighting properties. The particular antioxidant is called anthocyanosides.
Fresh bilberries can be eaten like blueberries, one to two cups each day is a good dose and fresh has more flavanoids than dried. Bilberry supplements may contain up to 25% anthocyanocides.
Bilberry is a small, wild, perennial shrub that grows throughout Europe and is now cultivated from the Far East to the United States and is related to the blueberry, huckleberry, and bearberry plants.