THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF RED RASPBERRY
IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF RED RASPBERRY
RED RASPBERRY
by Marisa Corless
This site brought to you by The School of Natural Healing & Christopher Publications
[Table of Contents] [History] [Location] [Chemical Constituents] [Medicinal Qualities]
[Contra-Indications] [Known Herbal Formulas] [Dosages & Applications] [Personal Experience] [Bibliography]

All plants contain constituents. These may include vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber, fats, sugars, tannins, and phytosterols.  The specific composition of each plant is different from plant to plant and species to species.  It is these chemical constituents that give a plant its medicinal and nutritive properties.  Raspberry is no different.   James Duke lists over 80 constituents found in the leaves, plants, and fruits.[1]  Many plants are known for a primary constituent or “active ingredient,” however; raspberry is not like these plants because a primary constituent has not been isolated.  As a result, raspberry is not generally standardized.[2]  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  The tendency of modern medicine to standardize herbs to a given constituent renders a drug rather than an herbal medicine.  The variation in constituents is part of what makes herbs work effectively.  Furthermore, in herbal medicine, the whole is better than the sum of the parts because the constituents work together synergistically to create the medicine.  One constituent may be the “active ingredient,” but the remaining constituents are the catalysts and protective factors to render the herb safe. 

 

According to the Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database, “Red raspberry contains anthocyanidins, ellagitannins, flavonols such as quercetin and kaempferol, catechins, and phenolic acids. Other constituents include ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, chlorogenic acid, glutathione, and alpha-tocopherol.”[3]  Both the leaves and berries contain iron citrate.  The leaves also contain pectin, malic acid, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and potassium sulfate.  The fruit contains iron, potassium, calcium salts, malic and tartaric acids.  The leaves also contain fragrine, which has an affect on the female organs.[4] 

 


Nutritional Profile of Red Raspberry Leaf in 100 grams of dried leaves

Nutrient

Amount

Relative Quantity of Source

Aluminum

39.2 mg

High

Ash

8.00%

Average

Calcium

1210 mg

High

Calories

.55/gram

Average

Carbohydrates

79.00%

Average

Chromium

.13 mg

Average

Cobalt

.34 mg

Low

Crude Fiber

8.20%

Low

Dietary Fiber

32.30%

Average

Fat

1.70%

Average

Iron

10.1mg

Very High

Magnesium

319 mg

High

Manganese

14.6 mg

Very High

Niacin

38.2 mg

Very High

Phosphorus

234 mg

Average

Potassium

1340 mg

Average

Protein

11.30%

Average

Riboflavin

Trace

Very Low

Selenium

.25 mg

High

Silicon

.13 mg

Low

Sodium

7.7 mg

Low

Thiamine

.34 mg

Average

Tin

2.3 mg

High

Vitamin A

18963 IU

High

Vitamin C

967 mg

High

Zinc

Trace

Very Low

 

The leaves contain 83.1% water when fresh, 6.7% water when dried, and 6% sugars in the forms of sucrose, fructose, and glucose.[5]  Although raspberry has a high aluminum content, this is not the same inorganic aluminum that has been linked to Alzheimer’s.  The aluminum present in raspberry is organic and easily assimilated by the body rather than accepted and stored, which leads to disease. 



[1] Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Scientific name search Rubus idaeus.

[2] Natural Standard

[3] Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database

[4] Hygieia: A Woman’s Herbal

[5] Nutritional Herbology page 146


"Natural Healing with Herbs for a Healthier You"