Goji berries are the small red berries of the Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense plants. They are also called wolfberries or Chinese wolfberries, and gou qi zi in Chinese. The fruit, root bark and leaves are commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The berries are also sold dried as a snack or pressed for juice. Claims that goji products have particular beneficial effects on health have not been completely backed up by research. Study results in lab animals, though, are encouraging. Goji berries may interact with some conditions and medications, such as warfarin, so double-check with your doctor before eating them.
Eye Health
Drugs.com notes that goji is central to many Chinese remedies for eye problems, although more research is needed to see what the effects are. Kansas State University reported in March 2010 that one of their researchers was studying the effect of goji berry intake on mouse retinal damage resulting from type-2 diabetes. Goji berries contain compounds such as lutein, a carotenoid that seems to play a role in eye health, and the university says cell studies of goji berries have shown they protect retinal pigment cells. The results are not final, though, so do not rely on goji berries to fix any eye problems you have--see an ophthalmologist instead.
Skin Damage
Goji berries contain something that might have an effect on skin damage, at least in mice. Exactly what that something is, isn’t clear. Australian researchers at the University of Sydney fed goji berry juice to sunburned mice. The April 2010 study, published in “Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences,” found drinking the juice reduced the inflammation and swelling from the sunburn. Diluted forms of the juice offered protection against immune system suppression caused by ultraviolet rays. The researchers said this was not a result of the vitamin C content or any other ingredient in the juice, and that it had to do with the goji berry juice itself. Keep in mind this study involved mice, and goji juice may not have the same effect in humans.
Cancer Cell Inhibition
Goji berries of the Lycium barbarum variety contain a polysaccharide, a form of carbohydrate, that stops cancer cell growth and contributes to cancer cell death in cell and mouse studies. Two 2010 studies in the journal “Medical Oncology” showed Lycium barbarum polysaccharide, or LBP, stopped the growth cycle of human gastric and colon cancer cells in the lab. A 2009 study in “The Journal of Medicinal Food” reported that LBP not only stopped cell growth of prostate cancer cells in mice but actually induced cell death in human prostate cancer cells in the lab. Despite the optimistic results, remember these studies were in animals or in a lab setting, and not actually tested on humans.
References
- "Planta Medica"; Goji (Lycium Barbarum and L. Chinense): Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Safety in the Perspective of Traditional Uses and Recent Popularity; O. Potterat; January 2010
- Kansas State University: K-State Study Using Chinese Wolfberries as a Dietary Supplement to Improve Vision Imperfections Caused by Type-2 Diabetes
- "Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences"; Mice Drinking Goji Berry Juice (Lycium Barbarum) Are Protected From UV Radiation-Induced Skin Damage Via Antioxidant Pathways; V. E. Reeve, et al.; April 2010
- "Journal of Medicinal Food"; Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharides Induce Apoptosis in Human Prostate Cancer Cells and Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth in a Xenograft Mouse Model of Human Prostate Cancer; Q. Luo, et al.; August 2009
- "Medical Oncology"; Growth Inhibition and Cell-cycle Arrest of Human Gastric Cancer Cells by Lycium Barbarum Polysaccharide; Y. Miao, et al.; Aug. 11, 2009
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