GOJI BERRY health benefit - also known as Wolfberry or Lycium Berry - by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

What you will find on this page:
Goji berry and goji berry juice information
Goji berry supplement
Eyesight Rx with goji berry extract for better vision within hours or days

 Goji berry is a fruit popular in Tibet and the goji plant also grows in Mongolia and China, and probably in India and Thailand. The goji plant is known in China as wolfberry (Lycium berry). My understanding thus far is that goji berry and wolfberry are the same or similar, it's just that they grow in different parts of Asia. However, there seems to be confusion and disagreement on this matter. I have spoken to different raw material suppliers, and some say goji berry and wolfberry are the same fruit with different names, while others claim goji berry and wolfberry are slightly different since they grow in different parts of Asia. Goji berry and wolfberry may just different varieties of the same fruit, just like there are different varieties of apples. For instance Fuji apple and Gala apple. Who's to say which variety is a healthier choice for long term consumption? A search on Medline does not reveal any findings with the keyword goji berry, but there are several research findings with the term wolfberry or lycium barbarum, the scientific name for wolfberry. The name goji appears to be an English contraction of the Mandarin name, gouqi (pronounced goo-chee) or Gou Qi Zi.
   To add to the confusion, even if wolfberry and goji berry are different species, you will find many products with the name goji berry even though the berries may be from wolfberry. This is because the name goji berry is more appealing and better promoted than wolfberry.

Goji Berry, 500 mg by Club Natural
 Goji Berry Supplement Facts

Amount Per Serving:
Goji Berry - 500 mg

Suggested use: As a dietary supplement, take 1 goji berry capsule a few times a week or as recommended by your health care provider.

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Eyesight Rx with Goji Berry extract
Supports Healthy Vision
Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Supplement Facts:
 Vitamin C
Citrus bioflavonoids (eriocitrin, hesperidin, flavonols, flavones, flavonoids, naringenin, and quercetin)
Mixed carotenoids (astaxanthin, beta carotene, cryptoxanthin, Lutein, Lycopene, Zeaxanthin)
Bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus)
 Eyebright extract (Euphrasia officianales)
Jujube extract (Zizyphus jujube)
 Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba)
Suma extract (Pfaffia paniculata)
Mucuna pruriens extract (Cowhage)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Goji berry extract - Lycium (Lycium Barbarum)
Sarsaparila (Sarsaparilla Smilax)
 Alpha Lipoic Acid antioxidant

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Goji berry health benefit
Goji berry has been used for centuries in Asia for eye health benefit and to maintain vitality. I cannot find any published research regarding the use of a goji supplement in humans or the benefit of drinking goji juice. I understand there are countless claims when one searches online for goji berry, but most of these claims are premature and not bases on human study results. The plain fact is goji berry research in humans is lacking, at least in the Western world.
   Some of the online goji berry health benefit claims include such promises as, "Would you believe the average woman in the Himalayan Hunza tribe lives to be 100? And that arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, sexual dysfunction and depression are totally unknown to them? Goji can shut down cell aging in six hours! Their secret? The berry of the goji vine. Never heard of it? You're not alone. Goji has just become available in the U.S. "No plant in all of Asian medicine even approaches the benefits of Goji," says pharmacist and nutrition researcher Earl Mindell, Ph.D., author of "Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret". Start sipping it today and you'll reap rewards like ... all over cell rejuvenation, powerful protection against germs, a return to passion and sexual desire..."
   I do believe that goji berry has health benefits and future research will indicate which of the goji marketing claims will turn out to be accurate and which will turn out to be overly enthusiastic. For the time being, it appears that one goji berry health benefit that has promise is in the realm of vision health. Goji berry has a high level of zeaxanthin which is a nutrient, along with lutein, necessary for optimal eyesight. I would suggest, though, rather than consuming goji berry predominantly, it would be a good idea to consume a variety of berries - cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, etc - in order to ingest a number of different phytonutrients.

Goji berry side effects
At this time no goji berry side effects have been reported in the medical literature. High doses of goji berry extract could induce alertness at bedtime and perhaps interfere with optimal sleep. As to goji juice side effects, it is difficult to expect any problems with drinking a couple of ounces a day unless the goji juice is mixed with other fruits that you may have an allergic reaction to.

Goji berry and vision
Goji berry is well known for having high nutritional value. Research show goji berry contains many vitamins, minerals, carotenoids and flavonoids that support vision health. Some of these nutrients include vitamins A, C and E, and carotenoids, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Goji berry is one of nature's richest sources of zeaxanthin. It contains about 100 to 200 mg of zeaxanthin per 100 grams.

Goji Berry Research
Effect of lycium barbarum ( goji berry ) polysaccharide on human hepatoma QGY7703 cells: inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis.
 Life Sci. 2005 Mar 18;76(18):2115-24.
Goji berry polysaccharide is a kind of traditional Chinese herb, is found to have anticancer activity. In this study, the effect of goji berry on the proliferation rate, cell cycle distribution and apoptosis in the human hepatoma QGY7703 cell line were investigated. The study suggests that the induction of cell cycle arrest and the increase of intracellular calcium in apoptotic system may participate in the antiproliferative activity of wolfberry in human hepatoma QGY7703 cells.

 Fasting plasma zeaxanthin response to Fructus barbarum L. ( goji berry ; Kei Tze ) in a food-based human supplementation trial.
 Br J Nutr. 2005 Jan;93(1):123-30.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common disorder that causes irreversible loss of central vision. Increased intake of foods containing zeaxanthin may be effective in preventing AMD because the macula accumulates zeaxanthin and lutein, oxygenated carotenoids with antioxidant and blue light-absorbing properties. Goji berry is a small red berry known as Fructus lycii and wolfberry in the West, and Kei Tze and Gou Qi Zi in Asia. Goji berry is rich in zeaxanthin dipalmitate, and is valued in Chinese culture for being good for vision. The aim of this study, which was a single-blinded, placebo-controlled, human intervention trial of parallel design, was to provide data on how fasting plasma zeaxanthin concentration changes as a result of dietary supplementation with whole wolfberry. Fasting blood was collected from healthy, consenting subjects; fourteen subjects took 15 g/d wolfberry (estimated to contain almost 3 mg zeaxanthin) for 28 d. Repeat fasting blood was collected on day 29. Age- and sex-matched controls (n 13) took no goji berry. After supplementation, plasma zeaxanthin increased 2.5-fold. This human supplementation trial shows that zeaxanthin in whole goji berries is bioavailable and that intake of a modest daily amount markedly increases fasting plasma zeaxanthin levels.

Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects and antioxidant activity of fruit extracts from Lycium barbarum ( goji berry  ).
Life Sci. 2004 Nov 26;76(2):137-49.
The hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of goji berry  water decoction, crude polysaccharide extracts (crude LBP), and purified polysaccharide fractions (LBP-X) in alloxan-induced diabetic or hyperlipidemic rabbits were investigated. Total antioxidant capacity assay showed that all three goji berry extracts / fractions possessed antioxidant activity. However, water and methanolc goji fruit extracts and crude polysaccharide extracts exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than purified polysaccharide fractions because goji berry crude extracts were identified to be rich in antioxidants (e.g., carotenoids, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, thiamine, nicotinic acid). Goji berry polysaccharides (glycocojugates), containing several monosaccharides and 17 amino acids, were major bioactive constituents of hypoglycemic effect. Both polysaccharides and vitamin antioxidants from goji berry were possible active principles of hypolipidemic effect.

Goji berry in Chinatown
If you live in a large city that has a Chinatown, you can find goji berry at a cheap price of a few dollars per pound. Find goji berries that are moist, are the size of raisins, and if preferable come from the goji berry capital of China, Ningxia.

Goji Berry email
 In August 2005 we received this email from a Goji berry supplier. We are not sure of the accuracy of their email, but we thought it may be important to post here: Botanical research specialists 'agents' for government and private international companies involved in world export of botanicals have made the following assessment by researching the sites and vendors listed below. The report said: 'Because the authentic wildcrafted Tibetan Goji berries have a limited harvest and that the world supply of Tibetan Goji berry was completely exhausted over four months ago and the new 2005 Goji berry harvest will not be ready for marketing until mid to late september, it is clear that these companies who say they are selling Goji berry are in all probability actually selling one to two year old Chinese wolfberries. These companies are calling their berries; Goji Berries, Wild Tibetan Goji berries, organic Goji berries, Himalayan Goji berries etc. this is clearly confusing the market and the consumer. These are clearly not Goji berries they are selling.
     Note: Again, we don't know if this information is accurate, but we are posting it for the time being. Even if companies are selling wolfberries as goji berries, I am not sure if this makes much, if any, difference in terms of health benefits.

Goji berry plant summary
I am still trying to find out how similar the goji berry plant is to wolfberry ( lycium barbarum ). I cannot find any research on goji berry or goji berry juice when I use these words in Medline. However, my impression thus far is that goji berry and wolfberry are the same fruit and the term goji berry is emphasized due to marketing purposes.

Goji berry extract
Goji berry is sold as the fresh berry, frozen berry, dried goji berry and as a supplement. As a supplement, you can find goji berry as a regular powder, as a 2 to 1 extract, 4 to 1 extract and even higher concentrations. One supplier is selling goji berry as a 40 percent polysaccharide extract.

Goji berry plant questions
Q. Is it better to take goji berry supplement, goji berry powder, drink goji berry juice, or eat goji berry?
   A. I think all these forms could be helpful for various reasons. As a general rule, it is healthy to eat goji berries, but then again almost all berries are healthy to eat. I would suggest eating a wide variety of berries as opposed to one type. As to goji berry juice, it depends what other juices are mixed with it. As a general guideline, a small amount of goji berry juice would be fine to drink on a regular basis. A goji berry extract supplement can be used occasionally for overall energy and wellbeing, and vision help, or to treat a particular medical condition.

Q. Hi. I was wondering if you had done any research on goji juice and, if so, what you think of its anti-aging and medicinal properties.
   A. We have not seen any research yet with goji juice. Small amounts of goji juice, as part of a healthy diet, should be a helpful addition to one's food intake.

Q. What is the difference between Himalayan goji berry, Tibetan goji berry or Chinese goji berry? There's also Himalayan goji juice for sale. I am starting to be wary of a goji juice scam.
   A. Yes, as with any supplement or product, a goji juice scam is possible. Himalayan goji berry and all the others are just marketing terms. If you buy a product that says Himalayan goji berry, it will likely be no different than goji berry bought with a different brand label. In fact, for the cheapest goji berry, visit your local Chinatown and you can find goji berry or wolfberry for a fraction of the price than you would in a health food store or through multilevel marketing distribution channels. As you may know, the Himalayas are high mountains, and even though they have valleys where crops and trees can grow, large scale production in this area and transportation is difficult. My understanding is that most of the goji berry or goji juice you see in the United States most likely comes from a few suppliers in China whose products may not be very different from each other.

Q. I saw a Freelife goji berry online claim that I hope you can clarify. It says,  FreeLife is the only company in the world to have developed a Spectral Signature to identify, isolate, and harvest only those special berries with the exact nutrient profile of the legendary Himalayan goji berry."
   A. FreeLife is a marketer of goji berry juice and in order to make their product appear different than other goji products on the market, they have to come up with something to impress those who don't know any better. There is absolutely no evidence that Himalayan goji berry or goji juice sold by FreeLife has any more health benefit than goji juice or goji berry from other companies. I am not saying that FreeLife goji juice is not a healthy addition to one's diet. My point is if you can find goji juice that is cheaper and without the need to buy from a multilevel company, then why buy FreeLife goji juice at many times the cost?

Q. Does goji treat cancer?
   A. Since no human studies have been done regarding goji and cancer, we can't say. However, goji berry, just as other berries, has compounds in them that may be beneficial in terms of overall health promotion and cancer reduction.

Q. Where can I find goji wholesale?
   A. You can search online for goji wholesale, or if you have an interest in a supplement form of goji wholesale you can visit Club Natural or Physician Formulas.

Q. I would like to order Goji extract 500 mg. I am not sure if the Goji Extract is as beneficial as drinking the actual Goji Juice? Would you know what is better or does it equal out the same?
   A. No studies have been done comparing goji extract to goji juice. It may be a good idea to take the goji extract a couple of times a week and drink the juice a couple of days a week and not take a capsule or drink the goji juice on other days. It's often a good idea not to use the same herb every single day. There are many other fruit juices and herbs that have beneficial properties, too.

Q. I've been a fan of your website for a long time now, and I especially like your honesty. One can tell you're really trying your best to present the nutrients information without "oversell" and "pill pushing". After having tried a few unusual supplements myself that seemed to do some liver damage, I treasure the personal experience anecdotes you tell. I agree that the labels on most supplement bottles will overdose a person and harm people's health. But when taken in smaller doses and less often, I believe the supplements can save lives. A goji berry supplement, and even nibbling on a few goji berries as a snack, seems to have given me a mild heart attack in the recent past (some of my personal experimenting on myself). The room was going dark and I had a bad pain in the center of my back (I'm a 53 yr. old female). I was wondering if there seems to be, in your opinion, an ingredient in goji that I could learn to avoid, and I'm guessing it's probably the zeaxanthin. Any ideas? Should I be avoiding sulfur or something?
   A. This is the first report we have had of this type of reaction to goji berry supplements or eating goji berries. Was it coincidence? I would be surprised if the goji berries had anything to do with your symptoms. However, unusual reactions can occur from almost any medicine or supplement. Please keep us updated and let us know if it occurs even if you eat one goji berry.