About the Maqui Berry

For a long time, people interested in maintaining a slim figure, have looked towards various medications made out of herbal extracts. Of late a new entrant has entered this field. Maqui berry is found in the Patagonia region of Chile as is slated to become one of the largest and one of the world’s most successful weight loss supplements of the world. Few people had any inkling about this berry from Chile which is also known as Aristotelia till it was mentioned by TV celebrity Rachael Ray during the course of one of her shows.

Since then, the interest of the people in this evergreen liliaceous shrub, which grows in the shaded woods in the mountains of Chile, has increased by leaps and bounds. This berry grows in wilderness and is not cultivated. It is plucked and eaten fresh or preserved for later consumption. The extract of this berry also contains a red colored pigment which is used for coloring wines. As a matter of fact, maqui berry is fast replacing elderberries for the purpose of wine colorization in France. This point is substantiated by the fact that nearly 315.705 kilos of this berry was imported by France in 1887… way up from 500 kilos imported in 1884.

The Mapuches Indians are consuming the fruits and stems of this plant for curing various ailments. According to the reports of a research conducted by Brunswick laboratories, maqui berry contains the highest level of antioxidants amongst all fruits. The antioxidants contained in this berry boast of an extra molecule of oxygen that help combat the free radical way before it can do any harm to the human system. Though our body is self sufficient and generates its own supply of antioxidants, the stress and strain of life combined with the aging process outputs more amount of free radicals than they can combat efficiently.

For those who do not know, these antioxidants are responsible for combating inflammation and oxidative stress and the resultant cell damage. Of late, aristotelia maqui has been offered for sale in London by the name of maqui berries. These berries, the extracts of which are also used to color wines, are now being made available for their medicinal properties. It is quite easy to differentiate these berries from other berries because of their coloring properties.

If anyone wets these berries and rubs them on paper, a purple stain will be formed on the paper. The fruit of the maqui berries are similar in size to that of khamnus cathartica and also look like black pepper. On examining the fruit one will observe that it comprises of four sections each of which contains a small triangular seed. Many people are fooled and consider the maqui berries to be buckthorn berries, but the lack of adherent calyx differentiates maqui berry from the buckthorn berries. Be prepared to give your health with the extracts of this berry from Chile which is making its presence felt in a big way.