Rubus idaeus is the scientific name for red raspberry.  The name comes from the Latin word “rubus” which means red and the Latin word “ida,” which is the name of a mountain in Phrygia where the plant grew abundantly.   Raspberry is a member of the Rosaceae family and is often listed with other species of Rubus in herbals and botany books.    In fact, raspberry was used interchangeably with blackberry by the Greeks, Chinese, Ayurvedics, and American Indians to heal complaints such as diarrhea, dysentery, and the healing of wounds.[1]  Rubus idaeus was native to Turkey and was used by the people of Troy.  Archeological findings show that the Romans spread the raspberry seed throughout their empire including up into England.[2] Red raspberry has been used for many years throughout the world both as food and medicine.

Raspberry is a valuable food source. The fruit is a popular fruit eaten in the summer months and sometimes into the fall.  The fruit has also been used for mild drinks.  It was also used as a dye.  In England, the roots were boiled and eaten like turnips.

All parts of the raspberry plants were used for their many medicinal properties.   A decoction of the flowers has been used for pimples, hemorrhoids, malaria, and as a poultice for eye inflammation, as well as to reduce fevers. [3]  The fruit used to be widely used to flavor other unpleasant tasting preparations. Raspberry vinegars have been used for sore throats and coughs.  In large quantities, the berries have been used as a laxative and diaphoretic.  They have also been used to ease rheumatism and indigestion.  The juice from the berries was used for fevers, childhood illnesses, and cystitis.  According to MDidea.com, “Gerard believed ‘the fruit is good to be given to those what have weake and queasie stomackes’.”  Historically, a cordial of the juice has been used for gastroenteritis in humans, pet birds, and livestock in Australia.  The fruit has also been used for anemia, gum disease, reducing a fever, easing digestion, sobering drunkenness, and stomachaches.[4]  The leaves have been used for diarrhea, to wash the eyes, and for a female tonic, especially in pregnancy.  Many midwives have used red raspberry leaf to prevent miscarriages and to assist in achieving pregnancy.  Midwives have also used the leaves to prevent postpartum hemorrhage.  The leaves were used for stomach complaints in children and to prevent morning sickness.    Historically, it was used as a mouthwash to heal canker sores, cold sores, and gingivitis.[5]   The leaves, combined with slippery elm, have been used to cleanse wounds and burns, and promote healing. In Tibetan medicine, the leaves are used to cure emotional disturbances, exhaustion, irritability, and chronic infections.[6]  The root, like blackberry roots, also in the Rubus genus, has been used for diarrhea. 

Red raspberry was used by many different Native American tribes for a wide variety of complaints.  The Algonquin used the root for diarrhea while the Cherokee used the root for coughs and toothache.  A tea was made for menstrual problems as well as parturition. Both the Chippewa and Pottawatomie used the root bark for the eyes.[7]  The Chippewa made a tea of the root bark and washed the eyes three times per day for cataracts.[8]    The Chippewa also used red raspberry for dysentery and measles.  The Ojibwa used a decoction of the root for bowel complaints in children. 

The Iroquois had many uses for red raspberry.  They made a tea of the young twigs.  The leaves were for kidney complaints.  Red raspberry was combined with snakeroot for “ladies who are run down because of sickness of period.”[9]  The root tips were boiled into a concentrated decoction to be used as a blood purifier and to lower or raise blood pressure.