Health Promoting Properties of Grewia asiatica and Grewia tenax Berries: A Potential Role in Cancer, Diabetes, and Liver Diseases Prevention

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Himalayan regions are a great source of berries. Berries are well-known for their nutritional benefits, which include low calorie, high vitamin, and fiber content. For millennia, indigenous cultures have used edible berries for food and medical purposes. In Ayurveda, the consumption of fresh berries is recommended for their health benefits and the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases. They are also considered a part of the 'Satvik Foods' that promote health and wellbeing, inner happiness, stress reduction, and memory enhancement. Currently, berries are promoted as nutraceuticals for the prevention of cancer, diabetes mellitus, obesity, liver abnormalities, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. Berries of plants belonging to the genus Grewia are traditionally used for nutrition as well as medicinal purposes, but these are less explored. In particular, the berries of Grewia asiatica and Grewia tenax species have been scantily explored for their medicinal properties and bioactive constituents despite their plenty of uses in folklore medicines. The focus of this chapter is to highlight the traditional uses, phytochemical composition, and pharmacological potential of G. asiatica and G. tenax berries along with mechanistic pathways of their action. Hopefully, such an attempt would attract the attention of basic researchers, the nutraceutical industry, natural therapists, Ayurveda practitioners, and the public at large.