ORONO — A research project out of the University of Maine says wild blueberries are good for digestion.

Professor Vivian Wu led a team of researchers that looked at how wild low-bush blueberries affected the digestive health in rats. For six weeks, they fed one group of rats a control diet and another group a blueberry-enriched diet.

They found that a plant fiber in the blueberries promotes the growth of good bacteria in the colon, thereby promoting healthy digestion. The findings were published last week in the online peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE.

Maine is the No. 1 wild blueberry state by far, with last year’s harvest topping 91 million pounds.