300px, (left to right) ''R. coreanus, R. thibetanus, R. corchorifolius'' ''Rubus coreanus'', known as bokbunja ( ko, 복분자), Korean blackberry, or Korean bramble, is a species of

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with ...

native to Korea, Japan, and China. It produces edible

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, ras ...

(not true berries in the botanical sense) that can be fermented into '' bokbunja ju'' ( ko, 복분자주), a Korean fruit wine (although the majority of fruit commercially grown for producing this drink are actually ''

Rubus occidentalis ''Rubus occidentalis'' is a species of ''Rubus'' native to eastern North America. Its common name black raspberry is shared with other closely related species. Other names occasionally used include bear's eye blackberry, black cap, black cap ra ...

'', native to North America). R. coreanus fruits are usually harvested between the May and July at peak harvest season. They can only be cultivated in a few areas in Korea, different to ''Rubus occidentalis'', which can be cultivated widely across the country.Lee, M. J., Nam, J. H., Jeong, J. H., Rho, R. I., (2020). Effect of Plant Part, Extraction Method, and Harvest Time over Antioxidant Yield of Rubus coreanus. ''Pharmacognosy Magazine,'' ''16''(5), 455–460. DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_549_19

Species variations

''Rubus coreanus'' belongs to an extensive family of various fruit species with similar qualities. The genus Rubus (family

Rosacea Rosacea is a long-term skin condition that typically affects the face. It results in redness, pimples, swelling, and small and superficial dilated blood vessels. Often, the nose, cheeks, forehead, and chin are most involved. A red, enlarg ...

) comprises 600 to 800 species distributed in temperate climate and polar regions of the world. Fruits of Rubus species, commonly known as raspberries in Europe and the United States of America are largely distinguished by their color (red, black, and purple). Approximately 20 Rubus species are naturally found in Korea, including ''

Rubus parvifolius ''Rubus parvifolius'', called Japanese bramble, or Australian raspberry in the United States or native raspberry in Australia is a species of plant in the rose family. It is a scrambling shrub native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietna ...

'', ''

Rubus crataegifolius ''Rubus crataegifolius'', also called Korean raspberry, is a species of raspberry native to East Asia. It is a shrub growing to 1–2 m (rarely 3 m) tall. The leaves are 5–12 cm long and 5–8 cm broad, palmately lobed with three or ...

'', '' Rubus corchorifolius'', ''Rubus oldhamii'', and ''Rubus coreanus''.

Folk medicine use and health claims

''Rubus coreanus'' has been used as traditional alternative medicine, as well as regular food, depending on its ripeness. Various studies are claimed to have demonstrated that fruits of ''R. coreanus'' might reduce the risk of diseases, including asthma, allergies, and obesity (unripe fruits) and might be effective in reducing inflammation.Oh, D., Kim, Y., Choi, E., Lee, H., Jung, M., Bae, D., Jo, A., Kim, Y. R., Kim, S., (2016). Antiobesity Effects of Unripe Rubus coreanus Miquel and Its Constituents: An In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of the Underlying Mechanism. ''Hindawi Publishing Corporation'', 1–15. DOI: 10.1155/2016/4357656 They are said to exhibit antioxidative, antipyretic, anticancer, and anti-high cholesterol properties, similar to many other fruits and vegetables.

Advertised compounds and industrial methods of making plant extracts

''R. coreanus'' is rich in antioxidant compounds. A major active compound in ''R. coreanus'', like in every other raspberry and several other fruits and nuts, is

ellagic acid Ellagic acid is a polyphenol found in numerous fruits and vegetables. It is the dilactone of hexahydroxydiphenic acid. Name The name comes from the French term ''acide ellagique'', from the word ''galle'' spelled backwards because it can be ob ...

, which in the marketing of Korean raspberry products is especially claimed to possess anti-obesity and antioxidant properties. Ellagic acid has been marketed as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

with various claimed benefits against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases. In the 21st century, numerous U.S.-based supplement companies received

FDA warning letter An FDA warning letter is an official message from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to a manufacturer or other organization that has violated some rule in a federally regulated activity. The FDA defines an FDA warning letter as: ...

s for promoting ellagic acid with false anti-disease claims that violate the

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (abbreviated as FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C) is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of f ...

. Ellagic acid has been identified by the FDA as a "fake cancer 'cure'". There is no

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

to support the claims that ellagic acid can treat or prevent cancer. Fruit and leave extracts from ''R. coreanus'' for products capitalizing on health claims are made by several methods; the most employed being conventional reflux heating or sonication extraction. Both methods share the same pre-preparation stage for samples before extraction. All samples are washed, dried in shade, and ground to a fine powder using a mill. In the reflux method, the ground powder is extracted using a

Soxhlet extractor A Soxhlet extractor is a piece of laboratory apparatus invented in 1879 by Franz von Soxhlet. It was originally designed for the extraction of a lipid from a solid material. Typically, Soxhlet extraction is used when the desired compound has a '' ...

for three hours, with the extracts being filtered and concentrated using a

rotary evaporator A rotary evaporator (rotovap) is a device used in chemical laboratories for the efficient and gentle removal of solvents from samples by evaporation. When referenced in the chemistry research literature, description of the use of this technique and ...

under a vacuum. In the ultrasonic bath extraction method, samples are extracted with 70% methanol using an ultrasonic bath at 64 °C for 2 h.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q841330 coreanus Flora of Eastern Asia Flora of China Berries Korean fruit Plants described in 1867 Taxa named by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel

Species variations

Folk medicine use and health claims

Advertised compounds and industrial methods of making plant extracts

See also

References

External links