Biological Properties of Honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.): A Review: The nutrition, health properties of honeysuckle

Abstract

The honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family, has been used for a long time in Chinese, Japanese and Russian folk medicine. Nowadays, the fruits of honeysuckle are becoming more and more popular also in Europe – mainly in Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia because of valuable medicinal properties and they are popularly used as an ingredient of dietary supplements and medicinal preparations. The fruits of Lonicera caerulea are rich in phenolics, especially anthocyanins and vitamin C. The major bioactive anthocyanin of haskap is cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G). Consumption of high amounts of an antioxidant substance may have a positive impact on human health, particularly the prevention of cancer and inflammatory diseases. The berries of blue honeysuckle containing a significant amount of biologically active substances can be included into the group of so-called "superfruits". Consumers are constantly seeking better alternatives, healthier products of plant origin, to rule out negative aspects, and this will be an alternative to widely existing food products. In addition, the growing interest of producers in new products rich in health-promoting properties makes them more attractive to the consumer. The content and health properties of the fruit were identified to be dependent on the cultivar, genotype, and the place of harvesting. This paper reviews and highlights the limited nutritional and therapeutic information currently available on the honeysuckle.