Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is a small evergreen climbing plant belonging to the Rosaceae family.

They are usually marketed for food:

• European raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
• American raspberry (Rubus strigosus)

Rubus idaeus, commonly known as the raspberry, is a species of the genus Rubus in the Rosaceae family. Native to Europe and Asia, it is renowned for its juicy, aromatic red fruits that are highly valued in culinary applications and for making preserves.

Botanical Classification:

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Order: Rosales
• Family: Rosaceae
• Genus: Rubus
• Species: R. idaeus

Plant Characteristics:
Rubus idaeus is a perennial shrub with arching canes that grow up to 1.5-2 meters in height. The plant has compound, palmate leaves with serrated edges. The flowers are white or pink, small, and clustered. The fruit, known as raspberries, is an aggregate of drupelets, turning bright red when ripe and harvested in summer.

Chemical Composition and Structure:
The fruit of Rubus idaeus is rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds:

Vitamins: High in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and some B vitamins.

Minerals: Contains potassium, manganese, and magnesium.

Antioxidants: Rich in anthocyanins and flavonoids, which contribute to its antioxidant properties.

Dietary Fiber: Good source of dietary fiber that supports digestive health.

Organic Acids: Includes citric acid and malic acid, which give the fruit a slightly tart flavor.

How to Cultivate It:

• Climate: Prefers temperate climates. Requires a period of cold to fruit well.
• Soil: Thrives in well-drained, organic-rich soils with a slightly acidic to neutral pH.
• Sunlight: Needs full sun to produce high-quality fruit but can tolerate partial shade.
• Watering: Requires regular watering, especially during dry periods. Avoid overwatering.
• Pruning: Annual pruning is necessary to remove old canes and encourage new, productive growth.

Uses and Benefits:

• Culinary Uses: Raspberries are eaten fresh, used in desserts, jams, juices, and as ingredients in various culinary dishes.
• Medicinal Uses: In traditional medicine, raspberries are valued for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are thought to benefit heart health and help regulate menstrual cycles.
• Cosmetic Uses: Raspberry extracts are used in cosmetics and skincare products for their antioxidant and hydrating properties.

INCI Functions:

Antioxidant agent. Ingredient that counteracts oxidative stress and prevents cell damage. Free radicals, pathological inflammatory processes, reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species are responsible for the ageing process and many diseases caused by oxidation.

Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment as it has the function of restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants that can be added in the formulation.

Skin protectant. It creates a protective barrier on the skin to defend it from harmful substances, irritants, allergens, pathogens that can cause various inflammatory conditions. These products can also improve the natural skin barrier and in most cases more than one is needed to achieve an effective result.

Applications:

• Food Industry: Used as an ingredient in baked goods, desserts, and beverages.
• Pharmaceutical Industry: Studied for their potential in supplements and health products due to their high antioxidant content.
• Agriculture: Cultivated for both commercial and home gardening purposes.

Environmental and Safety Considerations:

• Pests and Diseases: Raspberries can be susceptible to diseases like root rot and pests such as aphids and mites. Proper management practices are essential.
• Safety: Generally considered safe for consumption. However, individuals with berry allergies should be cautious.

Studies

There are other species, for example the Chilean wild raspberry (Rubus geoides Sm.) which is studied for applications in medicine (1).

In the phytochemical composition of the raspberry, as in many other so-called berries, there are interesting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components: polyphenols, anthocyanins, fibers and micronutrients.

There is also the black raspberry mainly found in North America and the Rubus niveus native to India, China and Southeast Asia with excellent gastroprotective antioxidant properties (2).

In particular, the European raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) has a long tradition as a remedy against the common cold, fever and flu symptoms, although there is no specific scientific research, but, from the analysis of its chemical composition and its biological activity, have emerged two very interesting components: ellagic acid (26.1-106.8 mg / 100 g) and Sanguiin H6 (139.2 - 633.1 mg/100 g), two components that possess a series of biological properties antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic (3).

The application of antioxidant components has proved useful in the treatment of skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation that can induce oxidative stress, carcinogenesis or inflammation. This study showed that a raspberry ethanol extract showed significant results of anti-inflammatory activity by annulling oxidative damage in DNA and attenuating protein carbonylation levels (4).

Raspberry fresh extract, rich in phytochemical components can be used as a potential anticancer auxiliary therapy (5).

Raspberry studies

References___________________________________________________________________

(1) Jiménez-Aspee F, Theoduloz C, Ávila F, Thomas-Valdés S, Mardones C, von Baer D, Schmeda-Hirschmann G. The Chilean wild raspberry (Rubus geoides Sm.) increases intracellular GSH content and protects against H2O2 and methylglyoxal-induced damage in AGS cells.   Food Chem. 2016 Mar 1;194:908-19. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.08.117. 

(2)   Nesello LAN, Beleza MLML, Mariot M, Mariano LNB, de Souza P, Campos A, Cechinel-Filho V, Andrade SF, da Silva LM.   Gastroprotective Value of Berries: Evidences from Methanolic Extracts of Morus nigra and Rubus niveus Fruits.    Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2017;2017:7089697. doi: 10.1155/2017/7089697. Epub 2017 Sep 20.

Abstract. This study evaluated the gastroprotective value of the methanol extracts from fruits of Morus nigra L. (black mulberry (MEMN)) and Rubus niveus Thunb (raspberry (MERN)). The total phenolic compounds and flavonoids were measured, as well as the in vitro 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenger activity. The gastroprotective effects of the extracts against 60% ethanol/0.3 M HCl were evaluated in mice. After that, the lipid hydroperoxides and reduced glutathione levels at ulcerated tissue were determined. The effects of extracts on H+/K+-ATPase activity were also verified. The extracts exhibited high contents of polyphenols; however, MERN presented 1.5-fold higher levels. The presence of flavonoids also was confirmed. In addition, MEMN (IC50 = 13.74 μg/mL) and MERN (IC50 = 14.97 μg/mL) scavenged DPPH radical. The MEMN reduced the ulcer area only at 300 mg/kg (p.o.) by 64.06%. Interestingly, MERN decreased the ulcer area in a superior potency (ED50 = 20.88 mg/kg), reducing the ulcer area by 81.86% at 300 mg/kg, and increased the gastric mucin levels. The antioxidant effects of extracts were evidenced by reduced lipoperoxides and increased reduction of glutathione amount in the gastric mucosa. However, MEMN or MERN did not change the H+/K+-ATPase activity. These results confirm that M. nigra and R. niveus are berries with a gastroprotective value by strengthening of gastric protective factors.

(3) Krauze-Baranowska M, Głód D, Kula M, Majdan M, Hałasa R, Matkowski A, Kozłowska W, Kawiak A. Chemical composition and biological activity of Rubus idaeus shoots--a traditional herbal remedy of Eastern Europe. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Dec 12;14:480. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-480.

Abstract. Background: The young shoots of Rubus idaeus are traditionally used as a herbal remedy in common cold, fever and flu-like infections yet there is no research concerning this plant material. The aim of the study was to evaluate the chemical composition and biological properties of raspberry shoots from 11 cultivar varieties....Conclusions: The shoots of R. idaeus stand out as a valuable source of sanguiin H-6 and ellagic acid and possess a number of biological properties including antioxidative, antimicrobial and cytotoxic.

Krauze-Baranowska M, Majdan M, Hałasa R, Głód D, Kula M, Fecka I, Orzeł A. The antimicrobial activity of fruits from some cultivar varieties of Rubus idaeus and Rubus occidentalis. Food Funct. 2014 Oct;5(10):2536-41. doi: 10.1039/c4fo00129j.

Abstract. Raspberries, derived from different cultivar varieties, are a popular ingredient of everyday diet, and their biological activity is a point of interest for researchers. The ethanol-water extracts from four varieties of red (Rubus idaeus'Ljulin', 'Veten', 'Poranna Rosa') and black (Rubus occidentalis'Litacz') raspberries were evaluated in the range of their antimicrobial properties as well as phenolic content - sanguiin H-6, free ellagic acid and anthocyanins. The antimicrobial assay was performed with the use of fifteen strains of bacteria, both Gram-negative and Gram-positive. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts varied and depended on the analysed strain of bacteria and cultivar variety, with the exception of Helicobacter pylori, towards which the extracts displayed the same growth inhibiting activity. Two human pathogens Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Moraxella catarrhalis proved to be the most sensitive to raspberry extracts. Contrary to the extracts, sanguiin H-6 and ellagic acid were only active against eight and nine bacterial strains, respectively. The determined MIC and MBC values of both compounds were several times lower than the tested extracts. The highest sensitivity of Corynebacterium diphtheriae to extracts from both black and red raspberries may be due to its sensitivity to sanguiin H-6 and ellagic acid.

(4) Wang PW, Cheng YC, Hung YC, Lee CH, Fang JY, Li WT, Wu YR, Pan TL. Red Raspberry Extract Protects the Skin against UVB-Induced Damage with Antioxidative and Anti-inflammatory Properties. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019 Jan 6;2019:9529676. doi: 10.1155/2019/9529676.

Abstract. Extensive exposure to UVB (280-320 nm) is the major risk responsible for various skin injuries. Numerous reports have shown that natural products could demonstrate photochemopreventive efficacy against UVB damage. We investigated the preventive effects and associated molecular mechanisms of red raspberry extract upon UVB-caused damage in human epidermal keratinocytes and a nude mouse model. The protein profiles and immunohistological study on a nude mouse skin indicated that red raspberry extract could prevent UVB-caused cell death and protect the skin against UVB-exposed injury manifested by wrinkling, scaling, tanning, and water loss as well as epidermal thickening. In addition, red raspberry extract application effectively abolished oxidative damage in DNA and attenuated the carbonylation level of proteins, which attributed to the activation of SOD, Nrf2 and its target genes, and HO-1. Red raspberry extract also altered the cells' apoptotic signaling pathways including caspase-3 as well as the inflammatory cascade such as c-jun and attenuated UVB-induced activation of NF-κB and COX-2. Red raspberry extract could alleviate direct photodamage to the skin caused by UVB exposure through the ROS scavenger and protection against inflammatory responses, which may allow the development of novel strategies in protecting the skin subjected to UVB radiation.

(5) Zhang H, Liu J, Li G, Wei J, Chen H, Zhang C, Zhao J, Wang Y, Dang S, Li X, Fang X, Liu L, Liu M. Fresh red raspberry phytochemicals suppress the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by PTEN/AKT pathway. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2018 Nov;104:55-65. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2018.09.003.