The plaquebière or Rubus chamaemorusis a subarctic herbaceous plant found in northern Canada and around the Gulf of St. Lawrence (60).   The fruit of this plant, chicoutai, has also been studied for its pharmacological properties. Chicoutai is recognized as a very important source of vitamin C and ellagic acid.  Ellagic acid has anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties(73-84). Indeed, ellagic acid inhibits in vivo the chemical induction of several cancers in rodents, such as lung, liver, skin and esophageal cancer(81).  All the research suggests that chicoutai juice may prevent the formation of cancer.

First Nations men treated   the first European immigrants suffering from scurvy with chicoutai.   During this same period, Northern Europeans used lingonberry for the same reasons, namely their high concentration of vitamin C and other phenolics.