Abstract

Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis [Molina] Stuntz) is an endemic tree species widely distributed in Chile and Argentina. Its fruit is a berry that is known worldwide as having the highest antioxidant capacity of any marketed fruit. Its production to date has been based on gathering fruit from wild forest plants, which are used for food products, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, or exported in bulk to several countries. Growing international demand has increased pressure on the natural maqui berry populations. Consequently, projects are underway to develop the commercial production of maqui berry to meet market demand, and new orchards are under development. Therefore, a comprehensive review scoping information about its ecological, genetic and chemical characteristics, plus the new research on agronomical culture, is necessary, in order to understand the potential future of the species as an important commercial fruit. Several sources of information were reviewed, from international journals to local thesis and research projects results in Chile. Considering that the main research of the species is going in Chile, the present review aims to access local information and to put it at the disposition of a wider community of researchers. The work reviews knowledge to date about natural distribution, ecology, propagation and management of the species, as its chemical, medicinal and nutraceutical properties. The novelty of the review is its broad view of all the different aspects that characterize the species, contributing to update the information about the species to support further research on agronomical production. Recent national and international demand for maqui berry makes it necessary to improve propagation, management, harvest and fruit storage techniques. Maqui berry production will soon go from harvesting natural populations to agricultural production involving current techniques like selection, cloning and shortly genetic improvement.