Phytochemical and Antioxidant Potential of Some Wild Edible Berries

Berries are being consumed all around the world because of their health benefits, as both food and herbal medicine. Being rich source of wide variety of antioxidant phenolics, they can contribute in reducing risk of number of diseases caused due to oxidative stress. In this book five wild growing, edible berry plants viz., Berberis lycium Royle (Indian Barberry), Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Teschem. (Indian strawberry), Rubus fruticosus L. (black berry), Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. ex DC., (Cranberry bush) and Ziziphus jujuba Mill. (Ber fruit) were scientifically investigated and documented for antioxidant properties from Doda-Bhadarwah region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Fruits of these plants are edible while leaves are used by the local folklore in the treatment of a numerous diseases. Among all the wild berries investigated, the fruits of Rubus fruticosus L. showed high content of cyanidins, ellagic acid and presence of certain flavonoids like rutin, quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol responsible for its high antioxidant potential. Hence, these berries can be explored and used as an attractive source for regulating the antioxidant defense mechanism in our body system.