Long considered agricultural waste, blueberry leaves are increasingly being harvested for their health benefits as an herbal tea product. Studies initiated by a food chemist named Dr. Kristi Michele Crowe---then a doctoral student at the University of Maine's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition---show that blueberry leaves have a higher concentration of the disease-fighting antioxidant anthocyanin than the fruit themselves. Native to North America, the plant and its tea byproducts are often used to soothe symptoms of urinary tract infections and other kidney-related ailments.
Place bunches of about 40 harvested leaves in a brown paper bag. This will make your drying efforts more efficient. Collect as many leaves as you can reasonably expect to set out to dry in a day or two, typically about 400 leaves or 10 bags. Transport the bags of hand-harvested blueberry leaves in half-bushel baskets.
Empty out the bags of harvested leaves, one bag at a time, onto a flat work surface. Spread harvested blueberry leaves out in single layers on drying racks away from humidity and direct sunlight. A desktop or table in a warm attic is ideal, but any flat surface away from drafts and out of direct sunlight will be adequate.
Proanthocyandin can be toxic, but the scientists found that the chemical found in blueberry leaves and other plants stopped replication of the hepatitis C virus at 100 times less than levels that would harm. More studies are planned to find out how blueberry leaves stop the hepatitis C virus from replicating.
