ABSTRACT
Haskap (Lonicera caerulea) berries’ health benefits have been known and used for a long time in traditional medicine in Russia and China and recently accepted as a healthy berry and cultivated in North America and Europe. Increasing evidences suggest that haskap berries have multiple biological functions such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacteria, and amelioration of lipid and glucose metabolism, which make them as potential healthy berries. Fruits of haskap are small berries, rich in sugar, organic acids, minerals, vitamins, and various trace elements. The nutritional characteristics of haskap berries are various in different areas. The phenolic compounds are considered as the main active components for the biological functions of haskap berries, although the mechanisms are not clear yet. As (poly)phenols are easily to be degraded in gastrointestinal tract, understanding the metabolic pathways of those compounds and the potential targets of their secondary metabolites will facilitate the rational use of this berry.
