This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

Horticulture Innovation (then Horticulture Australia Limited), in conjunction with the Rubus Industry Advisory Committee was looking to determine and promote the health benefits of Rubus. Broadly, this project involved a nutritional and regulatory review of four Rubus varieties (Raspberry, Blackberry, Boysenberry, Loganberry), which enabled the rubus industry to develop nutrition messages and content claims for the fruit.

This project aimed to:

1. Review the scientific literature related to Rubus and the health benefits of the bioactives and key nutrients. Where sufficient studies existed, to relate the outcomes of the scientific studies to government policy documents in relation to health claims
2. Provide possible health claims that could be made for Rubus.

Nutrient data was obtained for Australia and New Zealand (where Australian data was absent) and a review of the scientific literature using defined search terms in the Web of Science and Scopus databases for the years 2001-2011 was conducted.

Scientific review: 

The primary components of Rubus were the water soluble vitamins. A review of Australian and New Zealand nutrient composition databases revealed that Rubus could range from 184-293kJ energy, 0.3-0.7% total fat content, 1.1-1.5% protein, 4.9-7.5% carbohydrate and also contain 34-63mg/100g folate and 9-38mg/100g vitamin C. Many publications addressed the nutrient content of the berries individually with 24 identified in this project relating to raspberries, 15 for blackberries, 3 for boysenberries and 2 for loganberries separate from those addressing health in this project. The most commonly identified nutrients were the phenolic compounds with ellagic acid the specific bionutrient.

Raspberry:

• Raspberries were high in fibre or Raspberries were a good source of fibre
• Raspberries were a source of folate and manganese
• Raspberries were high in vitamin C or Raspberries were a good source of vitamin C
• Combined statement: Raspberries were high in/good source of vitamin C and fibre.

Blackberry:

• Blackberries were high in fibre or Blackberries were a good source of fibre
• Blackberries were a source of folate, beta-carotene, manganese and vitamin E
• Blackberries were high in vitamin C or Blackberries were a good source of vitamin C
• Combined statement: Blackberries were high in/good source of vitamin C and fibre.

Boysenberry:

• Boysenberries were high in fibre or Boysenberries were a good source of fibre
• Boysenberries were a source of vitamin C and niacin
• Boysenberries were high in folate or Boysenberries were a good source of folate
• Combined statement: Boysenberries were high in/good source of folate and fibre.

Loganberry:

• Loganberries were high in fibre or Loganberries were a good source of fibre
• Loganberries were high in vitamin C or Loganberries were a good source of vitamin C
• Loganberries were a source of folate and niacin
• Combined statement: Loganberries were high in/good source of vitamin C and fibre.

Recommendations:

• A clear portion size measure to allow health claims to be made.
• Consumer research to determine portion size preferences.
• Theoretical modelling to determine how the portion size fits within a balanced diet.