Red Raspberry

botanicalfruit

What is it

Red raspberry ( Rubus idaeus ) is a deciduous bramble in the Rosaceae family whose aggregate fruit (the red raspberry) and dried leaves are both used in dietary supplements. The fruit is a notable food source of vitamin C, manganese, dietary fibre, and the polyphenols ellagitannins (chiefly sanguiin H-6 and lambertianin C) and anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-glucoside and related glycosides). The leaf is traditionally consumed as a tea or extract and contains hydrolysable tannins, flavonol glycosides, and fragarine, an alkaloid historically associated with its use in pregnancy. Many marketed supplements use the fruit, leaf, or seed oil rather than the more research-prominent (and unrelated) red raspberry ketone compound.

Evidence for 4 uses

AI-assisted evidence assessment — talk to your doctor before relying on any single supplement.

Postprandial glycaemia

Limited Evidence

Small acute crossover studies suggest that consuming 125-250 g of red raspberries with a high-carbohydrate meal can blunt postprandial glucose and insulin peaks in overweight or insulin-resistant adults, likely via polyphenol modulation of intestinal sugar absorption and incretin response. Effects in longer trials and on HbA1c have not been clearly established.

Vascular and inflammatory markers

Limited Evidence

Short-duration RCTs report modest improvements in flow-mediated dilation, lipid oxidation, and select inflammatory markers with regular raspberry intake, attributed primarily to anthocyanins and ellagitannin-derived urolithins. Sample sizes are small and effects on clinical cardiovascular endpoints have not been demonstrated.

Pregnancy and labour (raspberry leaf)

Mixed Evidence

Traditional use and small uncontrolled studies suggest raspberry leaf tea taken in late pregnancy may modestly shorten the second stage of labour and reduce instrumental delivery, but the available randomised data are limited and methodologically weak. Major obstetric bodies do not endorse routine use, and product quality and dosing vary widely.

Weight loss (raspberry ketone)

Mixed Evidence

Raspberry ketone, a single aromatic compound present in trace amounts in the fruit and sold as a weight-loss supplement, shows lipolytic activity in cell and rodent studies but lacks adequately powered human trials demonstrating meaningful weight loss. Marketing claims substantially outrun the clinical evidence.

Dosage

There is no established supplemental dose for red raspberry. Culinary servings of the fruit provide 50-150 g and are not standardised. Raspberry leaf tea is traditionally prepared from 1-2 g of dried leaf per cup, two to three times per day; capsulated leaf extracts are typically dosed at 400-1200 mg per day. Doses used in human trials for cardiometabolic endpoints have ranged from approximately 125-250 g/day of fresh or frozen red raspberries, often as part of mixed-meal challenges. Raspberry ketone supplements (a separate single compound) are commonly sold at 100-500 mg/day but have very limited human evidence.

Safety

Red raspberries are well tolerated as a food. Raspberry leaf is generally considered safe in moderate amounts, but its use in pregnancy is contested: traditional practice has been to begin leaf tea in the third trimester to ease labour, while modern reviews note that human trials are small, methodologically limited, and provide no clear safety or efficacy signal, so use during pregnancy should be discussed with a clinician. Allergic reactions to raspberries are uncommon but reported, sometimes as part of birch-pollen-related oral allergy syndrome. There are no well-established drug interactions at culinary intakes; concentrated extracts have not been systematically studied for interactions with anticoagulants or antihypertensives.

References

Wikidata: Rubus idaeus (Q12252383) — Wikidata link
NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database: Red Raspberry — DSLD link

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Evidence-based·How we grade evidence

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This page is educational, not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Evidence grades are AI-assisted assessments — talk to your doctor before starting any new supplement, especially if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, on medications, or managing a chronic condition.