Maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis), also known as Chilean wineberry, is native to the rainforests of South America. The small evergreen tree, up to 16 feet tall, produces white flowers at the end of spring, and these flowers eventually yield small fruit. The small purple-black berries are up to ¼ inch in diameter and contain 4-8 seeds. Traditionally, locals consumed the berries in the form of fresh fruit or juice.

Maqui berries are high in dietary fiber, rich in iron, and a good source of calcium and potassium. They are very rich in anthocyanins, the pigments responsible for producing blues, purples and reds in plants, and they contain many other bioactive compounds like delphinidin, malvidin, petunidin, cyanidin, coumarins, triterpenes and flavonoids.*