Cloudberry is a golden to yellow coloured, nutrient dense fruit belongs to rose family. It is packed with various essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants, which offer numerous health benefits.

Nutritional profile

• It contains lesser amount of carbohydrates
• It contains protein as well
• It contains negligible amount of fat and does not provide too much calorie on its oxidation
• It also contains significant amount of moisture
• It is loaded with numerous imperative micronutrients, like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, calcium, phosphorus and iron
• It also contains various phytonutrients and especially rich in ellagic acid that exert several nutraceutical activities

Biological activity

Antioxidant activity

• Its polyphenolic components, micronutrients and phytosterol components are responsible for exhibiting antioxidant activity
• It helps to decrease the concentration of free radicals and reactive oxygen species in body and protects the body from their harmful effects
• It helps to prevent lipid peroxidation as well
• It also improves cellular functions and also protects various imperative biological substances of body from oxidative damages thus helps to sustain their functionality, which ultimately helps to improve overall health status

Anti-inflammatory activity

• Its polyphenolic components are accountable for exerting anti-inflammatory activity, which helps to decrease the concentration of inflammatory markers in body that prevents inflammation

• It helps to prevent joint swelling as well thus its consumption is thought to be very much helpful for improving joint health and lowers the risk of developing arthritis

Detoxifying activity

• It exerts potent diuretic activity, which is closely related with enhancing urination and promotes the elimination of waste products from body through urine
• It also stimulates the elimination of toxins, fat, excessive salt and water from body thus it helps to reduce the pressure on liver and kidney
• Moreover its consumption is thought to be extremely effective for cleansing the body

Anti-carcinogenic activity

• Consumption of cloudberry is closely associated with reducing oxidative stress, which ultimately lowers the risk of developing cancers
• It also helps to suppress the growth of malignant cells by inducing apoptosis
• It helps to hinder the growth of tumor cells as well

Antimicrobial activity

It shows antimicrobial activity too, which helps to prevent the growth of microbes within host and significantly decreases the susceptibility of infectious diseases

Health benefits

Role on immune system

• Its consumption is closely related with improving immunological responses of the body
• It contains various important micronutrients that help to boost up the immunity
• Its Vitamin C content is responsible for stimulating the synthesis of WBC, which helps to fight against infections, thus decreases the prevalence of infectious diseases
• Its antioxidant activity is also associated with neutralizing the effects of free radicals hence prevents cellular damages that ultimately promotes wellbeing
• It is also associated with improving the functionality of immune cells, which helps to lower the risk of becoming ill

Role on skeletal system

• Consumption of cloudberry is very much helpful for maintaining a healthy skeletal system
• It contains desirable amount of magnesium, which plays vital role in improving skeletal health as it helps in enhancing calcium uptake by the body
• It is also related with enhancing bone mineral density that ultimately reduces the prevalence of bone fractures
• Its consumption is awfully useful for improving the symptoms of osteoporosis

Role on digestive health

• Individual who want to obtain a healthy digestive system should include cloudberry in their diet
• It helps to improve peristalsis, which promotes colonic health and decreases the prevalence of diverticular disease as well as colon cancers
• It is also associated with improving regularity. It helps to make the defecation process easy by enhancing bowel movement, stool bulkiness and softness as a result significantly lowers the risk of developing constipation

• It helps to prevent bloating as well
• It is also very effective for inhibiting the growth of gastrointestinal pathogens like Salmonella, Staphylococcus etc thus reduces the risk of developing gastrointestinal infectious disorders

Role on circulation

• It contains significant amount of iron that helps in stimulating the synthesis of hemoglobin as well as RBC, which ultimately helps to improve circulation
• Proper circulation helps to provide appropriate nourishment to the body as circulation is directly linked with supplying sufficient nutrients and oxygen to the body

Role on skin

• Individual who want to obtain a bouncy and glowing skin should consume cloudberry as it contains various imperative nutrients that helps to make the skin healthy and supple
• It also helps to give the skin a younger look
• Its Vitamin C content plays vital role in improving the synthesis of collagen, which improves skin elasticity
• It helps to protect the skin from free radical induced oxidative damages, which ultimately lowers the risk of developing dermal disorders
• It helps to prevent ageing as well
• It is also associated with brightening up the skin tone
• It helps to improve the appearance of dull skin too

Role on oral health

• Consumption of cloudberry is extremely helpful for improving overall oral health
• Its Vitamin C content is considered as the main component responsible for maintaining healthy gum and teeth
• It helps to prevent bleeding gum, scurvy and tooth decay

Therapeutic uses

It is extensively used for several therapeutic purposes, which include –

• Its phytosterol components play significant role in decreasing blood cholesterol concentration
• It helps in accelerating healing process by stimulating the synthesis of cells and tissues at the site of wound and all the credit goes to its Vitamin C content
• It helps to prevent anemia as well
• It has seen that consumption of cloudberry helps to improve the symptoms of urinary tract infections
• It is also very much helpful for improving cardiac health. It has seen that its antioxidant activity is responsible for protecting the heart from oxidative damages, its anti-inflammatory activity is also associated with delaying cardiac inflammatory events as a result decreases the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand its cholesterol lowering effect helps to prevent atherosclerosis as well as coronary artery disease

Traditional uses

It has been traditionally used for various purposes, which include –

• Leaves of cloudberries are widely used for preparing herbal tea

• It has been extensively used for preventing hypo-vitaminosis C
• It is also used as an imperative immune booster due to its Vitamin A and Vitamin C contents. It has been used for enhancing body’s resistance power and significantly reduces the prevalence of normal cold flu and cough
• Root extract of cloudberry has been traditionally used by barren women for becoming pregnant
• It has been used for centuries as an important home based remedial action for bone disorders especially osteoporosis

General consideration of using cloudberry

• It can be consumed alone or can also be consumed as juice
• It can be used for preparing jam
• It can also be mixed with whipped cream and sugar for preparing Multekrem, a delicious dessert
• It has seen that in Nordia, it has been widely used for preparing a traditional liqueurs named Lakkalikööri
• It can also be used as topping agent for ice cream, pancakes and waffles

Risk factors

Over consumption of cloudberry may cause allergy thus it is better to consume it in moderation.

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Graham, J. and Brennan, R., 2018. Introduction to the Rubus Genus. In Raspberry (pp. 1-16). Springer, Cham.

Lee, J., Dossett, M. and Finn, C.E., 2012. Rubus fruit phenolic research: The good, the bad, and the confusing. Food Chemistry, 130(4), pp.785-796.

Thiem, B. and Berge, V., 2003. Cloudberry: an important source of ellagic acid, an anti-oxidant. Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening: tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke, 123(13-14), pp.1856-1857.

Whitson, J., McDougall, G.J., Ross, H.A., Lund, V.A., Hamilton, C.A., Dominiczak, A.F. and Stewart, D., 2010. Bioactive berry components: Potential modulators of health benefits. Funct. Plant Sci. Biotechnol, 4, pp.34-39.