Taste. Raw and unripe, the fruits of the red elderberry are poisonous. They cause vomiting diarrhea and were therefore also popularly used as an emetic and laxative in the past.
Effect. Folk medicine uses flowers, berries and root of red elderberry. The flower tea has a diuretic and diaphoretic effect. The raw berries were used as an emetic and laxative. The crushed root was used as a poultice for inflammatory skin diseases and for the treatment of warts.
Source: www.pflanzen-deutschland.de
