Blackberry
Quick Facts
- What it is: A wild North American bramble whose root bark and leaf were used in folk medicine for diarrhoea, and whose fruit is an ordinary food.
- Main uses: Short bouts of mild diarrhoea in adults, Mouth and throat gargle, Gum rinse
- Best for: Brief, mild loose bowels in an otherwise well adult, A simple astringent mouth rinse
- Active ingredients: Tannins, Gallotannins, Ellagitannins, Anthocyanins (in the fruit), Vitamin C
- Forms: Dried root bark, Dried leaf tea, Tincture or liquid extract, Cordial or brandy, Capsules, Fruit and juice
- Time to effect: Same day if at all; it may do nothing.
- Side effects: Mostly mild: stomach upset, dry mouth, constipation and poorer iron uptake with heavy use.
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What is Blackberry?
Blackberry is a thorny bramble that grows wild across North America. The ripe fruit is an ordinary food. The root bark and the leaf are the parts used as a folk remedy.
American folk healers and the Eclectic doctors of the 1800s used blackberry root bark for loose bowels. They simmered it into teas, syrups and cordials. Dried leaf was used in much the same way.
Here is the honest verdict. Human evidence for the medicinal use is thin. Long folk use is not proof that it works, or that it is safe.
How does Blackberry work?
The main idea is astringency, meaning a drying, tightening effect. Blackberry root bark and leaf are rich in tannins (plant compounds that taste dry and puckering). Tannins bind to proteins.
In test tubes, that binding makes tissue surfaces firm up and leak less fluid. Folk use assumed the same thing happens in the gut. That has not been shown in people.
In laboratory work, blackberry extracts also slow the growth of some gut bacteria. The same extracts mop up free radicals (unstable molecules that damage cells).
These are cell and test-tube findings. They do not show that the tea shortens an illness. No good human trial has tested blackberry root bark for diarrhoea.
What forms does Blackberry come in?
Blackberry is sold in a few simple forms. The medicinal ones use the root bark or the leaf.
- Dried root bark, for a decoction (a tea made by simmering). - Dried leaf, for a steeped tea. - Liquid extract or tincture, usually made with alcohol.
- Blackberry cordial or brandy, an old folk preparation. - Capsules of powdered leaf or root bark. - Fresh, frozen or dried fruit, jam and juice, as food.
Strength varies a lot between products. Some packs use leaf where the old texts called for root bark. Check which plant part the label names.
Tinctures and cordials contain alcohol. That matters for some readers, as noted in the safety section.
Where it comes from:
Blackberry root bark had a settled place in American folk medicine. Eclectic physicians of the 1800s listed it for diarrhoea, dysentery and summer bowel complaints in children.
It also appeared in older United States drug listings as a fluid extract and a syrup. Country households kept blackberry cordial for the same purpose.
The leaf was used as a gargle for sore mouths and throats. Native American groups in several regions used Rubus roots and leaves in similar ways.
This record shows what people did. It does not show that the remedy worked.
Who should avoid Blackberry?
- Do not use blackberry remedies in place of fluids and rehydration salts when you have diarrhoea.
- Do not give blackberry root bark or leaf preparations to a baby or young child unless a doctor advises it.
- Never use alcohol-based tinctures or cordials if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, in recovery from alcohol use, or taking disulfiram or metronidazole.
- Avoid strong, regular tannin teas if you have iron-deficiency anaemia (low iron in the blood).
- Do not use it to treat diarrhoea that contains blood, or that comes with a high fever.
- Avoid it if you have had an allergic reaction to blackberry, raspberry or other Rubus plants.
- Do not rely on it if you have inflammatory bowel disease (long-term gut inflammation such as Crohn's or colitis); get medical advice instead.
- Do not take it within two hours of iron tablets.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop and get medical advice if home use is not clearly helping.
See a doctor if any of these apply.
- Diarrhoea in an adult lasts more than two days. - There is blood in the stool, or the stool looks black and tarry. - You have a fever above 38.5C (101.3F). - You have signs of dehydration: dry mouth, little or no urine, dizziness or confusion. - Vomiting stops you keeping fluids down. - The person affected is a baby, a young child, or frail and older. - The illness began after recent antibiotics or foreign travel. - You get a rash, swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing after taking it. Treat this as an emergency.
Is Blackberry legal where you live?
In the United States, blackberry fruit is an ordinary food. Leaf and root products are sold as dietary supplements and are not approved as drugs. In the United Kingdom and European Union it is sold as a food and a food supplement, not a licensed medicine.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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