Some of offered female products contain extracts of raspberry leaves as one ingredient. Here are some facts about this herbal component.

About the plant raspberry

Raspberry is the name of several bushes and their berries in the subgenus ideobatus of the genus rubus of the rose family Rosacea,  found throughout most of the northern hemisphaere. The genus rubus also contains blackberry and dewberry.

In this genus the species are not rigorously fixed as in many other plant geni. The reason for this is frequent occurances of hybrids (crossings) between species and variants with a multiple set of chromosomes in the cell nuclei. A basic chromosome set in this genus is 7 chromosomes. When one sees a bush of the genus rubus it is not allways easy to know if it is blackberry, dewberry, raspberry or what variant or crossing of these one sees.

Examples of defined raspberry species are: Rubus arcticus (Arctic Raspberry) , Rubus crataegifolius (Korean Raspberry) , Rubus idaeus (European Red Raspberry) , Rubus leucodermis (Whitebark or Western Raspberry, native: Blue Raspberry) , Rubus occidentalis (Black Raspberry) , Rubus odoratus (Flowering Raspberry) , Rubus phoenicolasius (Wine Raspberry or Wineberry), Rubus strigosus (American Red Raspberry) (R. idaeus var. strigosus) (source: Wikipedia, and therefore free to copy)

Raspberry are perennial bushes, but the erect thorny shoots, called canes, reaching up through the soil are biannial. The canes grow white  flowers with five petals and produce berries the second year even though the flower buds appear allready the first summer. The fruites are composted of many small berries centered around a sentral unit that remains after the berries having been picked.

About the plant blackberry

Nlackberry is the name of several bushes and their berries in the subgenus eubatus of the genus rubus of the rose family Rosacea,  found throughout most of the northern hemisphaere, but in somewhat warmer areas than raspberry. The most common species is Rubus fructicosus.

Balckberry has a perennial root system from which biannal spiny stems are shooting. The first year a stem grows to its final length of up to 6 m. The nect year it shoots spiny side-sprouts that bear flowers. The stems typically follow the ground in an arching fashion. The leaves are composed. They are large along the stems and smaller on the side-shoots. The flowers are white. The flowers have 5 white or pink petals.

Like raspberry the fruits are stone-fruits enclosed in small fleshy balls stuck together in bigger globes. These units are dark blue or blackish and bigger than by raspberries.

About the genus Rubus

Rubus is a group (genus) of plants in the rose family. Species are shrubs and herbs. The flowers are almost always white. The fruits are small composed collections of stone fruits, each stone fruit surrounded by fleshy and juicy meat. These composed collections are in everyday language called "berries" The term "berry" is also used in this article.

The berries are aromatically tastefull, and many species are sought after to eat in deserts, to jam and to make juice off. Raspberries, blackberries and boysenbær are commercially grown.

A small species, Rubus cmmaaemorus or bakeapple, grows in wet forests and at moors in the very northern hemisphaere.  The barries which have a golden color are collected at the growing places in the early Autumn and among other things used in the production of liqueurs.

Rubus group is estimated to have existed already for 23 million years ago.

Boyesnberries is a cross between raspberry and pasific blackberry and this variant has especially big fruits. The crossing  probably surfaced naturally at the land of a farmer named Robert Boysen. Boysen grew thr berries for some time until he sold his farm. Around 1930 George M. Darrow of USDA had heard about the berries and wanted to find some plants. George M. Darrow together with the  berry expert Walter Knott managed to find the old farm of Boysen and also find some surviving plants. Walter Knott began grewing the berries in a bigger scale and they became soon a big commercial success. The farming of Boysenberries and products based on boysenberries became tha foundation for the big commercial enterprice Knott's Berry Farm.

The preparation of the herb for use

As a nutritive source, the berries are mostly used. As medicine, the dried leaves are used as tea or ectracts form the leaves are used. Dried berries are also used as tea.

The fresh berries used as a dessert will probably have the same effects as tea from dried berries.  The berries can als be frosen down and later warmed up to be used as desert.

The health and erotic benefits of raspberry

The barries have an extremaly high content of anti-oxidants effective to protect the body tissues against harm and giving the tissues occation to repair from oxidative damage allready done. The content of antixosidative polyphenols and anthocyanin pigments are especially great. Raspberries also contain ellagic acid that combat carcinogenous substances.

Berries that are strongly exposed to sunshine have a generally high content of substances to protect the berries themselves and the DNA in the seeds against the harmful impact from the ultraviolet light. Some of these substances are colored components that filter out the dangerous frequencies of the sunshine. Others are anti-oxidants that catch free radicals produced when energetic rays hit molecules in the cells and make them react with themselves in stead of hurting important structures in the berries and the seeds. Many of these substances are both colorful filters and anti-oxydants at the same time. Therefore berries with strong colors generally carry a high content of valuable anti-oxidants.

The barries also contain much fibers that help to regulate the stomach function. Raspberries are further a good source of vitamin C, manganese, B vitamins, folic acid, magnesium, copper and iron.

Because of the high content of anti-oxidants, raspberries are supposed to have an effect in all diseases where tissue degeneration or attacks at the tissue level by oxidative stress is a causing factor: inflammations, pain conditions , cancer, -cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, age-related cognitive decline, degeneration of eyesight with aging.

The effect against tissue segeneration makes it a good anti-aging herb.

Traditionally raspberry leves has been used to treat stomach cramps, cholic and diarrhoea.

Rapberry leaves generally strengthens the functions of the female reproductive organs, and eectivizes the regulation of these unctions. It helps to reduce excessive swelling and excessive bleeding, for example ater birth, and menstrual bleeding, and it helps to get better production of milk.

One also traditionally uses raspberry leaves to normelize the contractions of the uterus. It is thus in use to alleviate uterine cramps, but midwives also use it to strengthen labor during birth when the labor activiy is too low.

It also seems to help against prostate problems.

Teas or extract of respberry leaves are used as washes against infectious sores, for example canker sores and by infections in the eyes and as dressing on sores to counteract infection and promote healing. Raspberry also is helpful against sore throut and virus infections.

Raspberry leaves are also used against iron deficiency anemia.

Because raspberry leaves promote the dynamic function of the female sexual organs, it will also promote better female sexual functions.

The health benefits of blackberry

Blackberry is very similar to raspberry and the effects are probably many of the sames. Blackberries have extremely strong anti-oxydant effects.  Since the color is different, and anti-oxidants very often are the colored substances in plants, blackberry will contain partly other anti-oxidants than raspberry with somewhat different and complimentory function. It may therefore be wise to make teas where blackberry and raspberyy is combined.

Blackberries are notable for their high nutritional contents of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K,  and the essential mineral, manganese. An extract made from 300g of blackberries will easily cover the daily need for these substances.

The plant is used in folk medicine. Because leaves and flowers, among other things, contains tannic acid, they counteract inflammation. Therefore, the fresh leaves have been used directly on inflamed sores and eczema . In addition decoctions has been used for gargling to treat infectious diseases in the mouth and throat. Decoction of leaf and flower has also been used to stop diarrhea.

Raspbarry is one of the most delicious fruits for the northern hemisphaere, if not the most delicious. Because it is not as easy to grow and harvest in great quantities like strawberry, it is generally more expensive and have not got that wide use as for example strawberries.

However, raspberries are easy to find wild  in many areas and easy to gather for own use. Fully ripe raspberries are very delicious as a desert. A simple way to use them is to eat the raw with some milk float or cream, and possibly some sugar added.

Raspberries are also fine to use as an ingredient together with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or boysenberries. Blending berries with differnt colors together will also give you a wider battery of anti-oxidants.

It is also fine to use as fill in pies or cakes.

Blackberry has generally the same culinary uses as raspberry, but they are best when they are somewhat over-ripe.

Possible side effects

Some persons have reacted allergically towards raspberry. Most o the side effects of raspberry products have originated from contaminations with foreign substances or with parasites.

A picture of European red raspberry taken from Wikipedia org, and therefore is free to reuse.