Resilient forest remedies: biochemical diversity, health benefits, and conservation of medicinal berries in changing ecosystems

Forest berries are valuable bioactive food resources that link plant biodiversity, food quality, nutrition, and sustainable use. Many medicinal forest berries contain anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, carotenoids, lignans, vitamins, and other specialized metabolites that contribute to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardiometabolic, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, and gut-health-related effects. Their composition and functional value are not fixed traits; they are shaped by species identity, forest type, altitude, climate, soil conditions, phenology, and postharvest handling. Changing ecosystems therefore represent a critical challenge for the future use of medicinal berries as functional foods and nutraceutical ingredients. Climate change, habitat fragmentation, land-use change, and unsustainable harvesting can alter berry distribution, fruit yield, phytochemical accumulation, and long-term resource availability. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the diversity, distribution, biochemical composition, and health relevance of medicinal forest berries across boreal, temperate, tropical, Mediterranean, montane, and alpine ecosystems. It also evaluates conservation and sustainable-use strategies, including in situ protection, ex situ germplasm preservation, domestication, community-based agroforestry, environmental DNA monitoring, and field-deployable metabolomic tools. By integrating phytochemistry, food functionality, ecological adaptation, and conservation, this review highlights the need to protect medicinal berry resources while improving their responsible use in food, nutraceutical, and value-added agricultural systems. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.