Elderberry (Sambucus berries)

Plant Family: Adoxaceae, the Moschatel family. 

Plant Parts Used: Fruits and Flowers of the elder bush are edible. 

Herbal Actions: Fruits give antiviral, antibacterial, and antidiabetic properties, antitumor potential, antioxidant, antidepressant, and immune boosting properties. 

Elderberry has for a long time been used in folk medicine. In recent years it has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, antidepressant, and antitumor and hypoglycemic properties, and to reduce body fat and lipid concentration. 

The flowers of the elderberry tree should be harvested once the entire cluster has opened. Simply snip off the entire cluster of blooms (berries). 

The cooked berries of most species of Sambucus are edible, the uncooked berries and other parts of the plants are poisonous. Leaves, twigs, branches, seeds, roots, flowers, and berries of the Sambucus plants produce cyanogenic glycosides, which have toxic properties. Ingesting a sufficient quantity of cyanogenic glycosides from berry juice, flower tea, and beverages made from fresh leaves, branches, and fruits have been shown to cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and weakness.