Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.): chemical content and pharmacological activity.

Although many plants have been known to man for centuries scientifically obtained data about their chemical content and pharmacological activity are often still lacking. Through the ages errors about plants used in different countries officially as medicinal plants have been introduced and when included in complex pharmaceutical formulations may become unsafe. One of these medicinal plants is the bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Spreng. from the family Ericaceae). The leaves of this plant and in rare cases the stems are used for the treatment of urinary tract diseases. The aim of this review was to examine available data about main medicinal usage of the bearberry leaves as a source of biological active substances from different groups. Another important task is connected with unification of methods for quality control of bearberry leaves. The botanical classification of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Spreng. and its subspecies also require further study. At present, all subspecies of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Spreng. refer only to this species. Therefore analyzing the plant material quantitatively and qualitatively has been difficult.