Blackberries: the hedgerow doctor

Today, most of us think of blackberries in crumbles, jams, smoothies and pies. However, in the past, people looked at the whole plant differently. The fruit was food, yes, but the leaves, young shoots and roots were also gathered, dried, boiled, steeped, strained and turned into old household remedies.

Its reputation goes back a very long way. Blackberry leaf has been noted for its medicinal uses since at least the first century, when the Greek physician Dioscorides wrote about plants and their healing properties. Later herbalists also gave the bramble a proud place in their books. Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th-century English herbalist, praised blackberry for complaints of the bowels, piles and excessive bleeding. Some of the claims made for it over the centuries were wildly ambitious - no, a blackberry bush is not a sensible answer to venomous serpents - but many of its traditional uses had a practical basis.

The secret lies partly in tannins. Blackberry leaves and roots are rich in these naturally astringent compounds, which have a drying, tightening effect on tissue. That explains why blackberry was so often used in old remedies for diarrhoea, dysentery and upset stomachs. Country herbalists made teas, infusions and decoctions from the leaves or roots, using them to “bind” the belly when things were moving far too quickly.

This made blackberry especially valued as a family remedy. In different herbal traditions, blackberry root and bark were used for children’s diarrhoea, while blackberry syrup appeared in old recipes as a gentler preparation.

The bramble also had a place in remedies for the mouth and throat. Blackberry leaves were traditionally used as gargles and mouthwashes for sore throats, mouth ulcers, weak gums and inflamed tissue. The astringent quality of the leaf helped explain this use: it could make sore, irritated surfaces feel tightened and soothed. Modern research has also looked at blackberry extract for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects against some oral bacteria - though it still shouldn’t replace a dentist, doctor or proper treatment.

Blackberry vinegar was once used as a cooling drink during feverish colds, mixed with water to quench thirst. Decoctions of bramble leaves sweetened with honey were recommended for sore throats. Unripe blackberry juice, reduced into a syrup, was used as a gargle for swollen throats and troublesome mucus.

Blackberry leaves were used in poultices and washes for sores, itching, insect bites and irritated skin. Their astringent nature made them useful in traditional remedies for wounds and inflamed areas, while hot blackberry lotions appeared in old herbal references for abscesses and eczema. Again, these are historical uses rather than instructions to abandon modern medicine, but they show how trusted the plant once was in everyday care.

There were also traditional uses in women’s health. The leaves and brambles were traditionally used for excessive menstrual bleeding, probably because of their astringent, tightening action. Some herbalists also mentioned unripe blackberry syrup for heavy flow. These are not casual home remedies to experiment with today, but they show how widely the plant was used by earlier practitioners.

Then there is the fruit itself: the part most of us still know best. Blackberries are rich in fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. Their deep purple-black colour comes from plant compounds including anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant. They are low in calories, naturally sweet but tart, and useful for supporting digestion as part of a varied diet. So even when stripped of all its folklore and old remedy books, the blackberry remains impressively good for us.