Lingonberry
In short
Summary of findings for quick reference
Lingonberry is part of Austrian and northern European food traditions. Its tart berries are preserved as jam and compote and served with game and other savoury foods. The leaves also have traditional medicinal uses for urinary complaints. Berry and leaf are not interchangeable.
The Russian pharmacopoeia contains a quality monograph for lingonberry leaves. The EMA monograph often cited in this context concerns bearberry leaves. Although both plants contain arbutin, doses and treatment durations cannot simply be transferred between them. Leaf preparations are not ordinary everyday drinks.
The berries are familiar foods. The evidence checked here does not establish reliable treatment or prevention of urinary tract infections with lingonberry alone. One clinical trial tested a cranberry-lingonberry juice mixture, leaving the contribution of lingonberry unresolved. Traditional leaf use likewise does not establish clinical efficacy.
Clinical evidence ↔ Historical significanceWe display two separate evidence categories: clinical evidence from modern trials and historical significance from documented healing tradition. Both are valuable, but they answer different questions.Read more
In every encyclopedia entry we evaluate two distinct categories of evidence. Clinical evidence as used in trials meets a narrower but scientifically essential bar. At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of plant species worldwide have only partially been captured and tested in modern studies.
Alongside the trial picture our researchers compile a comprehensive overview of where and since when a plant has been used across different traditions of natural medicine. When a plant has been used as a medicinal plant in many cultures across many generations, that historical significance deserves to be visible too.
Our position: a truly informative overview emerges only when both categories sit side by side. We communicate transparently what counts as what.
Overview
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) is a low evergreen shrub of the heath family. In Austria it grows in habitats including open mountain woods and heaths. Its red, tart berries are used for jam, compote, juice and syrup; lingonberry jam is a traditional accompaniment to game. American cranberry is a different species.
The leaves contain arbutin and have traditional uses for urinary complaints. Their precautions differ from those for the berries as food. Pharmacopoeias define dried-leaf quality; this does not establish clinical efficacy. Findings on cranberry or mixed juices cannot be transferred to lingonberry alone.
History
In Austria and Bavaria, lingonberries are gathered in late summer and autumn and made into tart preserves served with game, Wiener Schnitzel and cheese. Lingonberry jam, known as lingonsylt in Swedish, is also a familiar Scandinavian food. The sources available here do not precisely date the origins of these traditions.
The leaves have been used in folk medicine for urinary complaints, sometimes as a substitute for bearberry leaves. The Russian pharmacopoeia of 2018 specifies their identity and quality. Such a monograph does not prove that a tea reliably treats symptoms. The EMA monograph often cited alongside it covers bearberry and must not be presented as a lingonberry monograph.
Mechanism
Lingonberry leaves contain arbutin, a compound of sugar and hydroquinone. Its breakdown produces metabolites excreted in urine. Hydroquinone can act against bacteria under certain conditions. This explains interest in arbutin-containing plants but does not prove the efficacy of lingonberry leaf tea. The leaves also contain tannins, which produce an astringent sensation in the mouth.
The berries contain different amounts and mixtures of plant compounds from the leaves. Anthocyanins give them their red colour; other compounds, including proanthocyanidins, are studied in the laboratory. Berry extracts can reduce certain oxidation reactions in these tests, but that does not establish protection from disease in people. Related compounds in cranberry and lingonberry do not make the fruits medically equivalent.
Lingonberry leaf quality is described, for example, in the Russian pharmacopoeia. It tests botanical identity and arbutin content among other properties. These are quality requirements, not treatment-trial results. The sources checked here do not establish reliable clinical efficacy of lingonberry leaf for urinary tract infections; bearberry studies do not fill that gap.
Fruit laboratory studies have examined plant compounds and antioxidant activity. An open randomised trial by Kontiokari and colleagues in 2001 also studied 150 women with a preceding urinary tract infection. Participants received cranberry-lingonberry juice, a Lactobacillus drink or no additional drink. After six months, recurrences were less common in the cranberry-lingonberry juice group than in the group receiving no additional drink. The trial tested a mixture for prevention, not lingonberry alone or treatment of acute infection.
Evidence
| Outcome | Class | Grade | Effect | Studies | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild urinary complaints (leaf tea, traditional use)The Russian pharmacopoeia describes lingonberry-leaf identity, purity and constituent content. Traditional urinary use is a separate matter. This quality monograph does not establish clinical efficacy, and bearberry monographs do not set a general lingonberry dose.Traditional medicinal leaf use | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | CEvidence quality grade C. Mixed or limited evidence. Small trials, signals, or traditional use under an EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional Use | ||
| Culinary and traditional food use (berries)The berries are used in Austria and northern Europe as jam, compote, juice and syrup. Their food role is separate from medical claims.General population as food | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | CEvidence quality grade C. Mixed or limited evidence. Small trials, signals, or traditional use under an EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional Use | ||
| Arbutin and its metabolites (leaf)Lingonberry leaves contain arbutin, whose metabolism yields hydroquinone compounds excreted in urine. These findings do not establish that lingonberry leaf tea reliably treats urinary infections, nor do they by themselves define a safe dose or duration.Arbutin metabolism research | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | CEvidence quality grade C. Mixed or limited evidence. Small trials, signals, or traditional use under an EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Mechanism Described | ||
| Laboratory antioxidant activity of berry extractsLingonberry extracts show antioxidant activity, including scavenging reactive molecules in laboratory assays. This is a chemical property, not proven protection from disease in people.Laboratory experiments | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | DEvidence quality grade D. Preliminary signal. A single small trial, pilot result, or laboratory or animal model. Clinical relevance unclear. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | In Vitro Signal | [2] |
Usage
Forms and preparation
Depending on the product, lingonberry leaves are prepared as an infusion or decoction. Use medicinal-quality material and its accompanying directions. For the berries, lingonberry jam is an Austrian classic: cook fresh or frozen berries with sugar using a suitable preserving recipe. Jam and compote go with game, Wiener Schnitzel and cheese, as well as bread or yoghurt. Lingonberries are edible raw but very tart and are often preferred cooked. In Austria they are gathered in late summer and autumn depending on location. A shallow container protects the berries underneath from pressure. Gather only confidently identified fruit and observe local rules. The leaves have a different use and do not belong in an everyday fruit tea.
Dosage
The sources checked here do not provide a universal lingonberry-leaf dose for self-treatment. Amount, preparation and duration vary between medicinal products. If a leaf preparation is appropriate for you, follow its own leaflet and have its use checked by a doctor or pharmacist. There is no medicinal dose for the berries as food. Have new, more severe or recurrent urinary symptoms assessed. Seek prompt medical help for fever, blood in the urine or pain in the back or kidney area. Lingonberry leaf tea does not replace necessary treatment and is not a drink for unrestricted daily use.
Safety
Look-alikes
Similar plants and look-alikes
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) usually grows flatter, with longer trailing stems. Its leaf underside has a fine vein network and lacks the brown gland dots of lingonberry. Both species can carry clusters of red fruit. Do not rely on fruit alone for identification or substitute one species’ medicinal leaves for the other.
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus)
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) has blue-black rather than red ripe fruit. Both species can grow in the same woodland. Dried bilberry fruit has traditional uses for mild diarrhoea and minor inflammation of the mouth; these uses do not apply to lingonberry or its leaves.
Read the entry: BilberryFAQs
What is the difference between Preiselbeere and the American cranberry?
Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) are different species in the same genus. Lingonberry has smaller fruit and grows wild in Austria; large-fruited cranberry is native to North America. Related plant compounds do not make them medically interchangeable. Cranberry product studies do not automatically apply to lingonberry jam or juice.
Berries or leaves for urinary support?
Traditional medicinal use concerns mainly the leaves, but that does not establish leaf tea as an effective urinary-infection treatment. The berries are primarily food. A cranberry-lingonberry juice trial studied prevention of recurrent infections but could not determine lingonberry’s individual contribution. Have urinary symptoms assessed and do not transfer bearberry doses to lingonberry leaves.
Where and how do you forage lingonberry in Austria?
Lingonberry grows wild across the Austrian Alps and Voralpen in the understory of spruce and pine forests at middle and higher elevations. The berries ripen in late summer and autumn depending on location. Look for a low evergreen dwarf shrub five to thirty centimetres tall with small leathery dark green leaves and small bright glossy red berries six to nine millimetres across, growing in little clusters at the tips of the stems. Pick into a shallow bucket so the berries underneath are not crushed by the weight on top. Take only what you need and leave some for the forest and for next year. In some Austrian Bundeslaender there are picking quantity limits for wild gathering; check your local rules.
How do I tell lingonberry apart from bearberry?
Both are low evergreen shrubs with red fruit. Lingonberry usually has more upright short shoots and small brown gland dots on leaf undersides. Bearberry has a fine vein network there but lacks those dots. Bearberry fruit can also occur in clusters, so arrangement alone is not a reliable distinction. Gather only clearly identified plants. Similar constituents do not make a medicinal mix-up harmless.
2 sources.
- T Kontiokari, K Sundqvist, M Nuutinen, T Pokka, M Koskela, M Uhari. Randomised trial of cranberry-lingonberry juice and Lactobacillus GG drink for the prevention of urinary tract infections in women. 2001. doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7302.1571
- Shiow Y Wang, Rentian Feng, Linda Bowman, Ross Penhallegon, Min Ding, Y Lu. Antioxidant activity in lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) and its inhibitory effect on activator protein-1, nuclear factor-kappaB, and mitogen-activated protein kinases activation. 2005. doi:10.1021/jf048379m
Legal notice: The depiction of historical significance and traditional use is context within our encyclopedia and not a health claim for any product, not a treatment promise, and not a substitute for medical advice. What may be stated on product labels, product pages, or in advertising is governed by the applicable legal requirements.