Elderberry's traditional uses, chemistry and reported health effects
What it found
Elderberry contains many phenolic compounds and has been linked to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and other effects in lab and animal studies, with some clinical studies in people.
The authors say more research is needed on how it interacts with drugs and how stable it is.
What they found
Studies in people
Clinical studies
Some clinical studies in people found elderberry relieved influenza symptoms and helped with urinary tract infections when combined with cranberry. The authors mention these but give few details.
Animal and lab studies
Health effects in lab and animals
Lab and animal studies report antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-influenza, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, cardioprotective and neuroprotective properties. These are attributed to the phenolic content.
Studies in people and animals
Safety and interactions
Elderberry may cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps at high doses. It may lower blood pressure, cause tachycardia, and interact with chemotherapy drugs, diabetes medications and diuretics. No animal or clinical studies on safety during pregnancy were found.
Other findings
Traditional uses
Elderberry has been used in many countries for coughs, colds, fever, bronchitis and other conditions, as teas, syrups or juices. The flowers are also used for colds and stomachaches.
Chemical makeup
Elderberry is rich in phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids like rutin and phenolic acids like chlorogenic acid. The berries contain anthocyanins, which give them their dark colour.
Extraction optimisation
Different extraction methods, solvents and temperatures affect the amount of beneficial compounds and cyanogenic glycosides in elderberry extracts. Berries had the highest beneficial compounds and lowest harmful cyanogenic glycosides compared to leaves and flowers.
What the authors conclude
“Overall, elderberry holds substantial potential as a rich dietary source of bioactive metabolites.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say elderberry holds substantial potential as a rich dietary source of bioactive metabolites.
- They suggest future research into its use in functional foods and nutraceuticals may provide new strategies for preventing and managing chronic diseases.
- They advise that more research is needed to understand how interactions with other molecules or drugs may alter elderberry's activity and potency.
How it was done
Elderberry has a long history of use for respiratory, fever and other conditions, and the authors wanted to summarise its reported biological and chemical profiles.
The authors searched databases like Google Scholar, PubMed and Web of Science for studies on elderberry's traditional uses, phytochemistry, biological activities, toxicity and clinical studies, with no specific limits.
What it can’t tell you
- Many of the reported health effects come from lab or animal studies, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The review does not provide details on how many people were in the clinical studies or how long they lasted.
- It cannot say whether elderberry prevents or treats any disease, only that some studies suggest possible benefits.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Animal ethics declaration: Not applicable.
- Authors work at
- Cairo University, Egypt; Gulf Medical University, United Arab Emirates
The paper
- Title
- Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.): an ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and biological review for a prospective nutraceutical plant
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Khalil AM, Kamal RM, El-Shiekh RA, Elbanna AH, Hamdy SA (2026). Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.): an ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and biological review for a prospective nutraceutical plant. Inflammopharmacology. doi:10.1007/s10787-025-02017-0Free full textPubMed 41665742DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error