The BLACKBERRY and related species, RASPBERRY,DEWBERRY,BRAMBLE, (ROSACEAE), are found on small bushy shrubs spread worldwide but most frequently encountered in temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere including North America.
The majority of these bushy plants or bramble are very thorny and invasive, which makes them considered in some countries (eg Australia, Reunion) as invasive plants to be eliminated.
Among the many species of Rubus (very difficult to differentiate from one another) are:
- RUBUS FRUCTICOSUS the common bramble present in the majority of hedges in Europe.
- RUBUS IDAEUS, the raspberry, a wild plant but also cultivated in many gardens.
- RUBUS GLAUCUS, a blackberry native to the mountainous regions of Central America and South America
- RUBUS CHAMAEMORUS, the Quebec plaquebière or peat burl, present in all the cold regions of the hemisphere North.
- RUBUS SUAVISSIMUS appreciated in Asia and the Far East for its slightly sweet leaves.
Brambles and Raspberries are perennial plants by their underground parts which each year emit new leafy stems more or less sarmenty and thorny.
The leaves, alternate, are most often segmented, made up of several leaflets and often have a denticulate margin.
The white or pink flowers, numerous, grouped together, are typical of rosaceae (5 petals, 5 sepals, numerous stamens).
The small edible fruits are of various colors (green, yellow, red, black) sometimes translucent.
They are appreciated by both wild animals and humans.
Their fruit, blackberry or raspberry result from the association of small drupes which remain more or less stuck to the rest of the flower receptacle.
Confusion is possible with the fruit of the mulberry (Morus nigra), a tree with also edible fruit.
The medicinal parts of BLACKBERRIES and RASPBERRIES are the leaves, fruits and buds.
RASPBERRY Rubus ideaus
RASPBERRY BLACKBERRY TANNINS DIABETES CANCER TISSUE PROTECTION SMALL RED FRUITS ATHEROSCLEROSIS RUBUS FRUCTICOSUS RUBUS IDAEUS RUBUS GLAUCUS RUBUS CHAMAEMORUS RUBUS SUAVISSIMUS RUBUS CAESIUS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
RUBUS LEAVES , BRAMBLE LEAVES
Bramble leaves are of interest in herbal medicine for their content in “medicinal tannins” (astringent) and for the absence of compounds with notable toxicity such as alkaloids for example.
The tannins correspond on average to 10% of the dry weight of the leaves and are mainly in the form of hydrolysable tannins derived from gallic and ellagic acids.
The leaves also contain non-specific flavonoids and organic acids.
The leaf of Rubus suavissimus contains diterpenoids (rubusoside based on steviol) which are chemically very similar to the sweet compounds of the leaf of Stevia rebaudiana.
The TANNINS of Rubus are:
- astringents (they « dry » wounds and mucous membranes but can induce constipation),
- anti-hemorrhagics
- antibacterials,
- slightly hypoglycaemic (anti-diabetic),
- protectors of small blood vessels (capillaries), and perhaps anti-angiogenic (inhibiting the formation of « abnormal » capillary networks necessary for the development of cancers),
- free radical scavengers (anti-inflammatory),
The associated flavonoids are also anti-free radicals and anti-inflammatory.
THE FRUITS OF RUBUS sp, BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES, NATURAL, ORGANIC AND DIETETIC
These small wild fruits which are produced by plants which develop without the aid of synthetic chemicals (pesticides) contain:
- natural sugars,
- vitamin C,
- tannins similar to those of the leaves but less concentrated,
- flavonoid pigments (anthocyanosides) which give the color to these fruits and stain the fingers (and tongue!)
- mineral salts
- certain specific substances: example lignans or « raspberry ketone » of raspberries
- small hard seeds which can, in some people irritate the intestines.
The combination of vitamin C, tannins and anthocyanoside pigments is strongly ANTIOXIDANT, anti-free radicals and therefore protects tissues (especially blood vessels) against degenerative processes linked to inflammatory reactions caused by chemically very reactive free radicals.
Some ANTI CANCER ACTION is also possible.
RASPBERRY LIGNANS are traditionally known to have estrogenic properties.
They can in certain cases « regulate » disorders of hormonal origin in women (example: irregular periods, pain during periods, early menopause).
« RASPBERRY KETONE » or RASPBERRY KETONE is a compound with a pleasantly fruity scent present in very small quantities (a few mg per kilo) in the raspberry fruit (raspberry).
In vitro studies show that this compound accelerates the use of lipids stored in fat cells, a « fat burning » effect.
But this effect is not found convincingly in animals, for « reasonable » doses of raspberry ketone.
At high doses, toxic side effects are also possible, in particular on the cardiovascular system (cardiotoxic effect).
Raspberry ketone marketed as a fat burner (weight loss diet)is not a natural substance extracted from the raspberry it comes from synthetic chemistry.
USES
COLORFUL WILD FRUITS: BLACKBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES
These wild berries or those grown organically in the garden are a good source of vitamins C, natural sugars, and phenolic compounds that protect the body (tannins, anthocyanosides, flavonoids).
Moreover, they are fruits sought after wherever they exist as much by humans as by animals (examples: birds, foxes, badgers).
All the ancient populations consumed them during the summer and autumn and kept them for the winter often in the form of « pemmican » (mixture of fat, marrow, dried meat powder and wild fruits).
You can eat blackberries and raspberries, fresh or dried, in jam, in syrup, in juice or quite simply in the nature while walking, avoiding choosing fruits too close to the ground (risk of animal pollution).
People with irritated intestines or who suffer from colonic diverticulosis are advised to sift the small and very numerous seeds of these fruits to make juices and jams.
RUBUS LEAVES (brambles and raspberries)
INFUSION
The leaves of brambles are used in herbal teas, it is a classic infusion in Germanic countries.
The infusion is short (to limit the concentration of tannins) and it is better to filter it.
You can mix the leaves of brambles with those of other aromatic or medicinal plants (examples: mint, lemon balm, lemongrass, boldo, lime blossom).
DIABETES AND OVERWEIGHT
It is a medicinal drink by the presence of tannin particularly useful in addition to a low calorie diet in the event of type 2 DIABETES or disturbance of cholesterol metabolism (atherosclerosis, atheroma).
It is recommended to filter the infusion to remove potentially irritating parts of the leaves.
Dosage: 1/4 to 1/2 liter of infusion per day
This infusion of bramble leaves can aggravate constipation in people with lazy gut, but slow down intestinal transit in people with irritated or reactive gut.
INFUSION-DECOCTION
Example: A handful of leaves (30 to 50 g) in a liter of water, 1 to 2 minutes of boiling, infuse 5 to 10 minutes.
Filter well because the leaves or their petioles have small thorns.
This decoction can be stored in the cold for several days.
To avoid oxidation which results in reddening of the solution, it is preferable to remove the air from the vial.
- RECURRENT NOSE BLEEDING (epistaxis)
In case of bleeding: abundant spraying of the decoction using a nasal spray container that can be bought in pharmacies (and empty of its contents) then compression of the wing of the nose . But the effectiveness of the treatment of recurrent nosebleeds with a decoction of bramble leaves is more preventive than curative.
After the end of the bleeding and when the nostril is completely empty of clots, 3 sprays per day for one to two weeks, sufficiently abundant so that one feels the liquid flowing in the throat. Maintenance treatment: one spray every two or three days. - SMALL BLEEDING FROM THE MOUTH or GUMS, APHTS.
Keep a tablespoon of decoction in your mouth for a few minutes, then spit it out. Treatment to be repeated 2 to 3 times a day. - ANGINA, PHARYNGITIS
Gargle with a tablespoon of pure decoction or diluted in a little water. - DIARRHEA: in the absence of specific drugs, the astringency of the decoction of bramble leaves can be used to slow down diarrhea: ingest a tablespoon of the decoction two to three times a day while awaiting appropriate treatment.
The astringent decoction of bramble leaves can also be used:
- to dry out irritated and oozing mucous membranes (eg vaginitis, leucorrhea),
- calm an irritated and inflamed area (eg hemorrhoidal crisis),
- clean a wound and even by application on a moderate burn.
ALCOHOLIC TINCTURE Rubus fructicosus
It can be found at online herbalists or made as a household tincture from dry or fresh leaves.
DIBETE AND OVERWEIGHT
Dosage: 50 to 150 drops per day, in addition to a low-calorie diet in the case of type 2 DIABETES and overweight-related disorders (hypercholesterolemia, atheroma deposition, arteriosclerosis).
Adjust the dose in case of secondary constipation.
This tincture can also be used diluted in a little water as a decoction (gargle, mouthwash, sore, burn, diarrhea)
GLYCERINE MACERATION OF RASPBERRY BLUSH AND YOUNG SHOOTS Rubus idaeus
The European School of Gemmotherapy and French biotherapists recommend this extract of plant embryonic tissues in women in the event of hormonal imbalance: irregular periods, absence of periods, pain during periods, menopause-related disorders.
It is a traditional use but which does not rely on recent clinical trials.
Recommended dosage: 50 drops twice a day.
Rubus glaucus
CULTIVATION OF RASPBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES
The common brambles (Rubus fructicosus) are rather eliminated than cultivated, their capacity to invade a ground is important, facilitated by the layering (rooting) of the stems as soon as they touch the ground.
An impenetrable bramble of rejects is then formed in a few years.
This tangle of flexible stems, defended by sharp thorns sometimes curved in the shape of a hook nevertheless has an ecological role: refuge for animals, food for grazers (deer but also goats), protection of young trees with slow growth (example oaks , beeches, chestnut trees).
In general, only the stems of brambles and raspberries that are two years old have flowers and fruits, new stems of the year bear only leaves.
The raspberry (Rubus idaeus), a wild plant, is very often cultivated in gardens but also commercially, it is a very rustic, perennial plant but which needs to be pruned every year.
There are many varieties of raspberries, sometimes « improved » by crossing with other related species, some cultivars are thornless.
Rubus glaucus, or blackberry with good size and very colorful fruit, is present in many markets in the Andean region of South America. It is a « blackberry » easily grown in mountainous regions of warm (and tropical) countries.
Despite certain problems linked in particular to the difficulty of harvesting these easily perishable small fruits from thorny plants, commercial crops of brambles and raspberries exist in the majority of temperate and cold countries of the northern hemisphere.
ABSTRACT
BRAMBLE AND RASPBERRIES MEDICINAL PLANTS WITH EDIBLE AND DIETETIC FRUITS
The leaves of brambles and raspberries, Rubus sp., Contain medicinal tannins and other substances that protect the tissues from inflammation and degeneration due to free radicals.
It is useful for slowing down aging or delaying the onset of cancer, in type 2 diabetes and various disorders linked to overweight or obesity, in particular cardiovascular complications.
Their fruits, blackberries and raspberries contain vitamins, natural sugars and protective compounds (tannins, anthocyanoside pigments), they are dietary fruits.
These various species of Rubus are found in the wild but can easily be cultivated.
Copyright 2023 : Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel
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