Lonicera caerulea (Haskap berries): a review of development traceability, functional value, product development status, future opportunities, and challenges

Abstract

Lonicera caerulea is a honeysuckle plant with a long development history. It is defined as a "homology of medicine and food" fruit because it is rich in bioactive substances. By-products (such as pomace, leaves, stems, and flowers), which also have beneficial values, will be produced during processing. Nevertheless, the reuse of derivatives and the further development of new products of Lonicera caerulea are still a challenge. Firstly, this paper traced the development history of Lonicera caerulea and summarized its primary nutrients and bioactive substances, subsequently discussed the research progress and underlying molecular mechanisms of its functional properties, and introduced the application and potential of Lonicera caerulea in the fields of food, health products, cosmetics, medicine, and materials. Finally, this paper put forward the future research direction to promote the development of the Lonicera caerulea industry. To sum up, Lonicera caerulea, as a potential raw material, can be used to produce more functional products. Besides, more in-depth clinical trials are needed to clarify the specific molecular mechanism of the practical components of Lonicera caerulea and improve the rate of development and utilization.

Highlights

1. The original species of Lonicera caerulea subgroup had appeared on the earth as early as the end of the third century.

2. Lonicera caerulea has been introduced into North America since the 18th century, but the introduction process has not ended until now.

3. Lonicera caerulea widely exists in Eurasia and North America and it has excellent cold tolerance, early maturity and ornamental.

4. The fruits, stems, leaves and flowers of Lonicera caerulea all have bioactive value, but the specific molecular mechanism and utilization need to be improved.

5. Lonicera caerulea has been widely used in food, medicine, health products, cosmetics and materials, but there are still great challenges.

Keywords:

• Lonicera caerulea
• Honeysuckle
• Haskap
• application
• bioactivities
• physiological function

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 32001685, 31972090), supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20273), China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-29), and the First Batch of Liaoning “Unveiling Leader” Scientific and Technological Projects (2021JH1/10400036).