| Maqui | |
|---|---|
| Maqui Tree with fruits | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Oxalidales |
| Family: | Elaeocarpaceae |
| Genus: | Aristotelia |
| Species: | A. chilensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz |
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| Synonyms | |
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Aristotelia chilensis (Maqui or Chilean Wineberry) is a species of the Elaeocarpaceae family native to the Valdivian temperate rainforests of Chile and adjacent regions of southern Argentina.
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It is a small dioecious tree reaching 4-5 m in height, evergreen, and with a divided trunk with smooth bark. Its branches are abundant, thin and flexible. Its leaves are simple, opposite, pendulous, oval-lanceolate, with serrated edges, glabrous, coriaceous with venation and strong red petioles. Its flower is small and white, yielding a small edible fruit (maqui berry) that is a favored food for birds. The small, purple-black berries are approximately 4-6 mm in diameter. The maqui berry is also known as the Chilean wineberry, and locally as maqui or maquei, queldrón, ach, koelon, and clon.
Only limited polyphenol research has been completed on the maqui berry showing its anthocyanin content includes eight glucoside pigments of delphinidin and cyanidin, the principal anthocyanin being delphinidin 3-sambubioside-5-glucoside (34% of total anthocyanins).[1] The average total anthocyanin content was 138 mg per 100 g of fresh fruit (212 mg per 100g of dry fruit),[1] placing maqui low among berries for anthocyanin content (see Anthocyanins#Occurrence for tabulated content data).
Anthocyanins are also present in maqui leaves.[2]
According to myths, the edible fruit was eaten by the Mapuche. Claude Gay documented in 1844 that natives used maqui to prepare chicha as may have been referenced in his "Physical Atlas of History and Politics of Chile". Today, maqui may be used to make jam, juice, an astringent or as an ingredient in processed foods or beverages. It has been planted in Spain.[3]