Elderberries grow beyond the folklore into mainstream functional foods.
Elderberries have been employed in European folk medicine since antiquity for a plethora of maladies from arthritis and asthma to colds and constipation. In 400 B.C., Hippocrates referred to the elder tree as his “medicine chest.”
Today, elderberry is going beyond its classical medicine uses and is an increasingly popular functional food ingredient. The success of elderberry—especially in the Austrian, German and English markets—owes equally to its unrivalled flavor and extraordinary health benefits.