Phytochemistry and biological activities of the genus Rubus

The genus Rubus, a member of the Rosaceae family, includes important species with both food and medicinal uses. With an emphasis on the anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of the main chemicals present in Rubus species, this review aims to synthesize the results of recent studies in order to better understand the biological activity and chemical composition of these species and their value as natural bioactive resources. This work also seeks to identify future directions for research that could enhance the clinical applications of Rubus-based bioactive compounds. For this purpose, NCBI, MDPI, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, MEDLINE and Springer Nature Link databases were searched for recent articles on phytochemical and biological activity studies on Rubus species. The results showed that Rubus species are rich in compounds belonging to different chemical groups (phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanins, etc.) and extracts and/or secondary metabolites of these species have important biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects.