Wolfberry

Wolfberry is also another name for the western snowberry, Symphoricarpos occidentalis.

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Lycium barbarum fruits
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Scientific classification
Domain: {{{domain}}} Superkingdom: {{{superregnum}}} Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: {{{subregnum}}} Superdivision: {{{superdivisio}}} Superphylum: {{{superphylum}}} Division: Magnoliophyta Phylum: {{{phylum}}} Subdivision: {{{subdivisio}}} Subphylum: {{{subphylum}}} Infraphylum: {{{infraphylum}}} Microphylum: {{{microphylum}}} Nanophylum: {{{nanophylum}}} Superclass: {{{superclassis}}} Class: Magnoliopsida Sublass: {{{subclassis}}} Infraclass: {{{infraclassis}}} Superorder: {{{superordo}}} Order: Solanales Suborder: {{{subordo}}} Infraorder: {{{infraordo}}} Superfamily: {{{superfamilia}}} Family: Solanaceae Subfamily: {{{subfamilia}}} Supertribe: {{{supertribus}}} Tribe: {{{tribus}}} Subtribe: {{{subtribus}}} Genus: Lycium Subgenus: {{{subgenus}}} Section: {{{sectio}}} Series: {{{series}}} Species: {{{species}}} Subspecies: {{{subspecies}}}
[[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]]
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Species
*Lycium barbarum L. Lycium chinense Mill. Lycium halimifolium Mill. (synonym for L. barbarum) Lycium ovatum Loisel. (synonym for L. chinense Mill. var. chinense Lycium turbinatum Veill. or Loisel. (synonym for L. barbarum) Lycium vulgare Dunal (synonym for L. barbarum)
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Synonyms
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Wolfberry is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum (Template:Zh-cp) and L. chinense (Template:Zh-cp), two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae (which also includes the potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco). Although its original habitat is obscure (probably southeastern Europe to southwest Asia), wolfberry species are now grown around the world, primarily in China.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Germplasm Resources Information Network, it is also known as Chinese wolfberry, goji berry, barbary matrimony vine, bocksdorn, cambronera, Duke of Argyll's tea tree, or matrimony vine. Unrelated to the plant's geographic origin, the names Tibetan goji and Himalayan goji are in common use in the health food market for products from this plant.

Significance

Known in Asia as an extremely nutritious food, wolfberries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years (Gross et al., 2006). Their undocumented legend, however, is considerably older, as wolfberries are often linked in Chinese lore to Shen Nung (Shennong), China's legendary First Emperor, mythical father of agriculture, and herbalist who lived circa 2,800 BC.

Since the early 21st century in the United States and other such industrialized countries, there has been a rapidly growing recognition of wolfberries for their nutrient richness and antioxidant qualities, with 54 new product introductions worldwide during 2006[15]. Such rapid commercial development includes wolfberry among a novel category of functional foods called "superfruits" expected to be a double-digit growth market over the next several years[16][17] [18].

Description

Lycium barbarum illustration from Flora von Deutschland, by Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany.

Wolfberry species are deciduous woody perennial plants, growing 1-3 m high. L. chinense is grown in the south of China and tends to be somewhat shorter, while L. barbarum is grown in the north, primarily in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and tends to be somewhat taller.

The botanical division named to the upper right, Magnoliophyta, identifies plants that flower and the class Magnoliopsida represents flowering plants (Dicotyledons) with two embryonic seed leaves called cotyledons appearing at germination.

The order Solanales names a perennial plant with five-petaled flowers that are more or less united into a ring at the base; well-known members of the order include morning glory, bindweed, and sweet potato as well as the plants of the Solanaceae, mentioned below.

Lastly, Solanaceae is the nightshade family that includes hundreds of plant foods like potato, tomato, eggplant, wolfberry, peppers (paprika), crop commodities (tobacco), and flowers (petunia). Although the Solanales includes many plant foods, some members are poisonous (for example belladonna).

Leaves and flower

Wolfberry leaves and flower

Wolfberry leaves form on the shoot either in an alternating arrangement or in bundles of up to three, each having a shape that is either lanceolate (shaped like a spearhead longer than it is wide) or ovate (egg-like). Leaf dimensions are 7 cm long by 3.5 cm wide with blunted or round tips.

One to three flowers (picture) occur on stems 1-2 cm in length. The calyx (eventually ruptured by the growing berry) is comprised of bell-shaped or tubular sepals forming short, triangular lobes. The corolla are lavender or light purple, 9-14 cm long with five or six lobes shorter than the tube. The stamens are structured with anthers that open lengthwise, shorter in length than the filaments (picture).

In the northern hemisphere, flowering occurs from June through September and berry maturation from August to October, depending on latitude, altitude, and climate.

Fruit

Close-up, ripe wolfberries, Zhongning County, Ningxia, China

These species produce a bright orange-red, ellipsoid berry 1-2 cm long^{[19] photo}. The number of seeds in each berry varies widely based on cultivar and fruit size, containing anywhere between 10-60 tiny yellow seeds that are compressed with a curved embryo. The berries ripen from July to October in the Northern hemisphere.

Etymology

"Wolfberry" is the most commonly used English name, while gǒuqǐ (枸杞) is the Chinese name for the berry producing plant. In Chinese, the berries themselves are called gǒuqǐzi (枸杞子), with zi meaning "seed" or specifically "berry". Other common names are "the Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree" and "matrimony vine". Rarely, wolfberry is also known in pharmacological references as Lycii fructus, meaning "Lycium fruit" in Latin.

Although origin of the common name "wolfberry" is undefined, it may have derived from the Greek word for wolf, "lycos" (λύκος), first applied to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum with derivation of 'lyco' as wolf, plus 'persicum' as peach, i.e., "wolf-peach") by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753[20], the same year Lycium barbarum was entered into botanical nomenclature. Botanically related to tomato in family Solanaceae, wolfberry may have assumed its name from the more common, larger berry, tomato - the "wolf-peach". Why Linnaeus named tomato after the wolf remains unknown.

In the English-speaking world, "goji berry" has been widely used since the early 21st century as a synonym for "wolfberry". While the origin of the word "goji" is unclear, it is probably a simplified pronunciation of gǒuqǐ, the Mandarin name of the plant, developed by those marketing wolfberry products in the West.

Lycium, the genus name, is derived from the ancient southern Anatolian region of Lycia (Λυκία). Interpreters of botanical nomenclature believe barbarum, the species name, indicates that the wolfberry was of foreign origin, perhaps originating outside Anatolia or China, or was deemed a plant not native to the region where it was first discovered.

Together, these names are used as specific botanical identifiers in binomial nomenclature for which barbarum is the specific epithet. The end abbreviation, L., refers to Linnaeus, who described the species in 1753 in Species Plantarum. L. chinense was first described by the Scottish botanist Philip Miller in the eighth edition of his The Gardener's Dictionary, published in 1768.

In Japan the plant is known as kuko (クコ) and the fruits are called kuko no mi (クコの実) or kuko no kajitsu (クコの果実); in Korea the berries are known as gugija (hangul: 구기자; hanja: 枸杞子)[21]; in Vietnam it is called "kỷ tử" (杞子), "cẩu kỷ" (枸杞), "cẩu kỷ tử" or "câu kỷ tử" (枸杞子); and in Thailand the plant is called găo gèe (เก๋ากี่). In Tibetan the plant is called dre-tsher-ma (50px), with dre meaning "ghost" and tsher-ma meaning "thorn"; and the name of the fruit is dre-tsher-mai-dre-bu (100px), with dre-bu meaning "fruit".

Cultivation

China

Ripe wolfberries, Zhongning County, Ningxia, China

The majority of commercially produced wolfberries come from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of north-central China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China, where they are grown on plantations. In Zhongning County, Ningxia, wolfberry plantations typically range between 100 and 1000 acres (or 500-6000 mu) in area.

Cultivated along the fertile aggradational floodplains of the Yellow River for more than 600 years, Ningxia wolfberries have earned a reputation throughout Asia for premium quality sometimes described commercially as "red diamonds".[22] Government releases of annual wolfberry production, premium fruit grades, and export are based on yields from Ningxia, the region recognized with:

• The largest annual harvest in China, accounting for 42% (13 million kg, 2001) of the nation's total yield of wolfberries, estimated at approximately 33 million kg (72 million lb) in 2001.
• Formation of an industrial association of growers, processors, marketers, and scholars of wolfberry cultivation to promote the berry's commercial and export potential.
• Ongoing horticultural research conducted on the wolfberry plant at the Ningxia Research Institute, Yinchuan (see References: Gross et al., 2006, chapter 9).
• The nation's only source of therapeutic grade ("superior-grade") wolfberries used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine.[23]

In addition, commercial volumes of wolfberries grow in the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei. The oblong, red berries are very tender and must be picked carefully or shaken from the vine into trays to avoid spoiling. The fruits are preserved by slowly drying them in the shade on air exchange tablets or by mechanical dehydration employing a progressively increasing series of heat exposure over 48 hours.

Wolfberries are celebrated each August in Ningxia with an annual festival coinciding with the berry harvest (it was first held in Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan, but is now held in Zhongning County, an important center of wolfberry cultivation for the region).[24]

China, the main supplier of wolfberry products in the world, had total exports generating US$120 million in 2004. This production derived from 82,000 hectares farmed nationwide, yielding 95,000 tons of wolfberries.[25]

Pesticide and fungicide use

Organochlorine pesticides are conventionally used in commercial wolfberry cultivation to mitigate destruction of the delicate berries by insects. Since the early 21st century, high levels of pyrethroid insecticide residues (including fenvalerate and cypermethrin) and fungicide residues (such as triadimenol), have been detected by the United States Food and Drug Administration in some imported wolfberries and wolfberry products of Chinese origin, leading to the seizure of these products.[26] Due to the demand for organic products in the West, some Chinese growers are beginning to experiment with integrated pest management and to explore the possibility of obtaining organic certification, something that has not yet been publicly disclosed for Chinese wolfberry farms and products.

Some Western resellers may state that their wolfberries are organically grown when in fact they are not. The Green Certificate claimed by some wolfberry marketers to be the equivalent of the United States Department of Agriculture's "USDA Organic" seal[27] is in actuality simply an agricultural training program for China's rural poor.[28] China's Green Food Standard,[29] administered by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture's China Green Food Development Center, does permit some amount of pesticide and herbicide use.[30][31][32]

Despite some claims that wolfberries sold in Europe, the United States, and Canada meet organic standards, there is no public evidence for standardized organic certification of wolfberries from the Asian regions where they are commercially grown. Often, these berries are marketed as Tibetan or Himalayan Goji Berries that have been "wild crafted" or "wild harvested". On the contrary, however, Tibet's agriculture conventionally uses fertilizers and pesticides, and neither wolfberries ("goji") of Tibetan or Himalayan origin sold outside Tibet nor organic certification of such berries have been proved[33].

Tibetan goji berry

Since the early 21st century, the names "Himalayan Goji berry" and "Tibetan Goji berry" have become common in the global health food market, applied to berries claimed to have been grown or collected in the Himalaya region [34] (or sometimes "the Tibetan and Mongolian Himalayas"[35], a misnomer because the Himalayas do not extend into Mongolia, which lies approximately 1500 km (1000 miles) to the northeast)[36]. Although none of the companies marketing such berries specifies an exact location in the Himalayas or Tibet where their berries are supposed to be grown, Earl Mindell's website states that his "Himalayan" Goji products do not actually come from the Himalayas, but instead from Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and the Tian Shan Mountains of western Xinjiang, China[37].

Although Lycium species do grow in some regions of Tibet, commercial export production of wolfberries in the Tibetan Himayalas must be a myth fabricated for a marketing advantage, as this mountain range bordering the Tibetan Plateau is a region inhospitable to commercial cultivation of plant foods of any kind. In the Himalayan foothills, bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond sparse, low bushes[38], whereas eastern valleys and plains of the Tibetan Plateau at lower altitude support growth of wild Lycium chinense[39].

The Tibetan Plateau, comprising most of Tibet north and east of the Himalayas, lies at more than 3000 m (10,000 ft) in altitude, with poor soil and arid climate conditions unfavorable for fruit crops. Defined by the geography of Tibet, particularly in the western Himalayas, cold nighttime temperatures averaging -4°C year round [40] with six months of continual frost[41] would inhibit plant bud development and prevent fruit formation. Existing in Tibet are minimal subsistence agriculture and impoverished crop management and transportation facilities unsupportive of commercial berry production. Although limited fertile regions suitable for food crops exist in the valleys of Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, and the Brahmaputra River, there are no objective economic, scientific, or government reports on the commercial production of Lycium berry species from these Tibetan regions[42].

Importance of cultivar

Described in ancient Chinese texts, gǒuqǐ (wolfberry, named Lycium barbarum L. in 1753) has existed in China over recorded history and has likely been used to make hybrid plants dozens of times across Asia, as attested by some 90 species of boxthorn, wolfberry's genus.

Although several wolfberry marketers state that their "Tibetan goji" is a specific species, given variously as Lycium eleganus, Lycium eleganus barbarum, or Lycium eleagnus, no such species exist. Elaeagnus (Silverberry or Oleaster) is a genus of about 50-70 species of flowering plants in the Elaeagnaceae family. The vast majority of Elaeagnus species are native to temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, including Elaeagnus umbellata, which grows near the Himalayas and bears an orange-red berry possibly confused with Lycium barbarum.

Some Internet authors claim Lycium eleagnus barbarum (another nonexistent species) is the original Lycium barbarum or an improved cultivar of it.[43] However, Lycium and Elaeagnus are sufficiently disparate genera that successful cross-breeding is unlikely. Further, there is no evidence in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants of a Lycium species of Elaeagnus or vice versa.[44] [45]

United Kingdom

Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll (1682–1761) delighted in growing exotic trees and shrubs in his garden at Whitton in Middlesex, England (he was nicknamed the "Treemonger" by Horace Walpole) and introduced the plant into the United Kingdom in the 1730s where it is known as Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree. It was and still is used for hedging, especially in coastal districts. Its red berries are attractive to a wide variety of British birds.

The plant continues to grow wild in UK hedgerows. On 15 January 2003, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (of the United Kingdom Government) launched a project to improve the regulations protecting traditional countryside hedgerows, and specifically mentioned Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree as one of the species to be found growing in hedges located at Suffolk Sandlings, Hadley, Bawdsey, near Ipswich, and Walberswick.

The wolfberry has been naturalized as an ornamental and edible plant in the UK for nearly 300 years. On June 18, 2007, the FSA (UK Food Standards Agency) stated that there was a significant history of the fruit being consumed in Europe before 1997, and has removed it from the Novel Foods list [46]. It is now legal to sell the goji berry in the UK as a food as reported by the British Food Standards Agency [47].(also see discussion below, Marketing claims under scrutiny in Europe).

Uses

Dried wolfberries

Wolfberries are almost never found in their fresh form outside of their production regions, and are usually sold in open boxes and small packages in dried form. The amount of desiccation varies in wolfberries: some are soft and somewhat tacky in the manner of raisins, while others may be very hard. Wolfberries with a vibrant orange-red color may have been treated with sulfites. Wolfberries are usually used directly, and do not need to be rehydrated prior to use.

Medicinal

Wolfberries have long played important roles in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) where they are believed to enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect the liver, boost sperm production and improve circulation, among other effects.

In TCM terms, wolfberries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They act on the liver, lungs, and kidneys and enrich yin. They can be eaten raw, consumed as juice or wine, brewed into an herbal tea ^{photo 1photo 2} or prepared as a tincture. The berries are also used in traditional Korean medicine, traditional Japanese medicine and traditional Tibetan medicine.

Wolfberry leaves may be used to make tea[48] and Lycium root bark (called dìgǔpí; 地骨皮 in Chinese)^photo for TCM treatment of inflammatory and some types of skin diseases. A glucopyranoside and phenolic amides isolated from wolfberry root bark have inhibitory activity in vitro against human pathogenic bacteria and fungi [49][50].

An early mention of wolfberry occurs in the 7th century Tang Dynasty treatise Yaoxing Lun. It is also discussed in the 16th century Ming Dynasty Compendium of Materia Medica of Li Shizhen.

From marketing literature for wolfberry products including several "goji juices", a reputation exists for wolfberry polysaccharides having extensive biological effects and health benefits, although none of these has been proved by peer-reviewed research. Wolfberry polysaccharides show antioxidant activity in vitro and might also have biological activities in vivo currently under research (20 publications on this topic since 1991; PubMed, February 2007). As a source of dietary fiber, however, polysaccharides would yield products from bacterial fermentation in the colon, such as several short-chain fatty acids, e.g., butyric acid, which may provide health benefits. Although the macromolecular structure of wolfberry polysaccharides has not been elucidated, preliminary structural studies appear to indicate that they exist in the form of complex glycoconjugates .

Wolfberry fruits also contain zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering roles. A human supplementation trial showed that daily intake of wolfberries increased plasma levels of zeaxanthin.

Several published studies, mostly from China, have also reported possible medicinal benefits of Lycium barbarum, especially due to its antioxidant properties, including potential benefits against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, vision-related diseases (such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma), having neuroprotective properties or as an anticancer and immunomodulatory agent.

However, in the west, very little of this research has been scientifically recognised, approved in clinical conclusions, or accepted by regulatory authorities.

Culinary

As a food, dried wolfberries are traditionally cooked before consumption. Dried wolfberries are often added to rice congee,^photo as well as used in Chinese tonic soups, in combination with chicken or pork, vegetables, and other herbs such as wild yam, Astragalus membranaceus, Codonopsis pilosula, and licorice root.^{photo 1photo 2} The berries are also boiled as an herbal tea, often along with chrysanthemum flowers^photo and/or red jujubes, and packaged teas are also available.^photo Various wines containing wolfberries (called gǒuqǐ jiǔ; 枸杞酒) are also produced, including some that are a blend of grape wine and wolfberries.^photo At least one Chinese company also produces wolfberry beer, and New Belgium Brewery makes an ale with wolfberries used as flavoring.^photo Since the early 21st century, an instant coffee product containing wolfberry extract has been produced in China.^{photo 1photo 2photo 3}

Young wolfberry shoots and leaves are also grown commercially as a leaf vegetable.^photorecipe

In the West, dried wolfberries are also eaten hand-to-mouth as a snack, in the manner of raisins or other dried fruit. Their taste has an accent of tomato and is similar to that of dates, dried cranberries or raisins, though drier, more tart, less sweet and with an herbal scent. Dried wolfberries are also used frequently in raw food diets.

Nutrient content

Macronutrients

Wolfberry contains significant percentages of a day's macronutrient needs – carbohydrates, protein, fat and dietary fiber. 68% of the mass of dried wolfberries exists as carbohydrate, 12% as protein, and 10% each as fiber and fat, giving a total caloric value in a 100 gram serving of 370 (kilo)calories, of which 272 come from carbohydrates, and 90 of which come from fat.

Micronutrients and phytochemicals

Wolfberries contain many nutrients and phytochemicals including

• 11 essential and 22 trace dietary minerals
• 18 amino acids
• 6 essential vitamins
• 8 polysaccharides and 6 monosaccharides
• 5 unsaturated fatty acids, including the essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid
• beta-sitosterol and other phytosterols
• 5 carotenoids, including beta-carotene and zeaxanthin (below), lutein, lycopene and cryptoxanthin, a xanthophyll
• numerous phenolic pigments (phenols) associated with antioxidant properties

Select examples given below are for 100 grams of dried berries. Other nutrient data are presented in two reference texts

• Calcium. Wolfberries contain 112 mg per 100 gram serving, providing about 8-10% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI).
• Potassium. Wolfberries contain 1,132 mg per 100 grams dried fruit, giving about 24% of the DRI.
• Iron. Wolfberries have 9 mg iron per 100 grams (100% DRI).
• Zinc. 2 mg per 100 grams dried fruit (18% DRI).
• Selenium. 100 grams of dried wolfberries contain 50 micrograms (91% DRI)
• Riboflavin (vitamin B2). At 1.3 mg, 100 grams of dried wolfberries provide 100% of DRI.
• Vitamin C. Vitamin C content in dried wolfberries has a wide range (from different sources) from 29 mg per 100 grams to as high as 148 mg per 100 grams (respectively, 32% and 163% DRI).

Wolfberries also contain numerous phytochemicals for which there are no established DRI values. Examples:

• Beta-carotene: 7 mg per 100 grams dried fruit.
• Zeaxanthin. Reported values for zeaxanthin content in dried wolfberries vary considerably, from 25 mg per 100 grams [51] to 200 mg per 100 grams [52]. The higher values would make wolfberry one of the richest edible plant sources known for zeaxanthin content.[53] Up to 77% of total carotenoids present in wolfberry exist as zeaxanthin.[54]
• Polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are a major constituent of wolfberries, representing up to 31% of pulp weight.

[Note on wolfberry polysaccharides: marketers of some wolfberry products claim polysaccharides have specific physiological roles mediated by specialized cell receptors, "master" control properties over other bioactive chemicals and cells, and characteristic spectral peaks defining one berry's geographic origin from another (Bibliography, Mindell, 2005). These claims are an important marketing message for wolfberry products branded as Tibetan Goji Berries or Himalayan Goji Juice[55]. Such statements, however, have no scientific evidence published under peer-review and are not compliant with regulatory guidelines for marketing natural food products (see below, Marketing claims under scrutiny in Europe, Canada and the United States)]

[Note on micronutrient and phytochemical contents: differences in the degree of berry maturation at the time of picking, soil conditions and geographic region where the berries were grown, post-harvest handling and processing, duration of storage, residual water content and assay preparation can significantly affect individual nutrient contents, especially those for vitamins and phytochemicals. These factors make data comparisons between different assays or sources difficult to reconcile].

Ningxia wolfberries

Interesting interpretation about soil origins has arisen to explain the exceptional nutrient qualities of the Ningxia wolfberry. To the west of Ningxia is the province of Gansu, notable for its expansive mineral-rich desert, the Loess Plateau.

As the Yellow River passes through Gansu downstream toward Ningxia, loess is wind-eroded into the river water where it is carried as silt in its downstream course. The Yellow River is renowned as the most silt-laden body of water in the world, as this is where the river's name is derived[56].

Finer than sand, yellow Gansu loess was formed 2 million years ago after glaciation left behind dust rich in a host of minerals unlike anywhere else on Earth. Gansu erosion into the Yellow River is so dense that silt content in the Yellow River in Ningxia weighs 37 kg for every cubic meter of water[57] -- the highest silt density measured.

Yellow River floods in Ningxia have occurred repeatedly over millennia, depositing the mineral-rich silt over the river's floodplains where wolfberry fields and other crops are renewed and fertilized by the deposited sediment.

The dense mineral content of Gansu loess, therefore, may be the origin of the enriched soil which nourishes Ningxia wolfberries.

Functional food and beverage applications

Cultivated for a variety of food and beverage applications within China, but increasingly today for export as dried berries, juice and powders of pulp or juice, wolfberries are prized for their versatility of color and nut-like taste in common meals, snacks, beverages and medicinal applications. A major effort is underway in Ningxia, China to process wolfberries for “functional” wine.

Marketing

Since the early 21st century, the dried fruit has been marketed in the West as a health food (typically under the name "Tibetan goji berry"), often accompanied by scientifically-unsupported claims regarding its purported health benefits.

By unconfirmed reports, its most recognized nutritional attribute is an exceptional level of vitamin C, reputed to be among the highest in natural plants. However, demonstrated by independent assays on dried berries to actually be in a range of 29-148 mg per 100 grams of fruit, the level is actually comparable to many citrus fruits and strawberries[58][59]. Although considered nutritionally "excellent", wolfberry's vitamin C content is considerably lower than for numerous other fruits and berries, such as the Australian Kakadu "billy goat" plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana), blackcurrant, and sea-buckthorn.[60]

Companies marketing the berries often also include the unsupported claim that a Chinese man named Li Qing Yuen, who was said to have consumed wolfberries daily, lived to the age of 252 years (1678-1930), another one of the numerous myths surrounding the health benefits of wolfberry.

Commercial products marketed outside Asia

Typical of many exotic fruits being introduced into western food and beverage commerce, wolfberry is best known in the United States and Canada as a juice marketed over the Internet since 2002 with an increasing presence in North American health food stores and grocery markets. While juice prepared entirely from fresh wolfberries is rare, blends containing several other berry and fruit juices are used for nearly all "wolfberry" juice products, many of which are nevertheless labeled as "goji juice". The percentage of wolfberry contained in these juices is generally not stated on such products' labels.

Since 2005, wolfberry has been increasingly mentioned in reports on the emerging functional food industry as one of the "exotic superfruits"[61][62][63] . "Superfruit" is meant to imply nutrient richness with medical research results indicating potential health benefits, combined with uncommon but appealing taste, pigmentation, and antioxidant strength[64][65][66].

Other wolfberry consumer applications are as dried berries (picture above), berry pieces in granola bars, and skin soap made from seed oils.

Commercial suppliers have prepared products for using wolfberry as an additive in manufacturing, such as juice concentrate, whole fruit purée, powders from juice or juice concentrate made from spray drying, pulp powders, whole or ground wolfberry seeds, wolfberry seed oils (as done for grape seed oil), and essential oils derived from wolfberry seeds.

Marketing claims under scrutiny in Europe

Template:POV In February 2007, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of Great Britain, an advisor for food safety to the European Food Safety Authority of the European Union (EU), published an inquiry to retailers and health food stores requesting evidence of significant use of wolfberries in Europe before 1997[67]. This period would document a safety history and evaluate how "novel" the berries are in the EU, affecting their authorization status for sale.

The FSA reported its preliminary research among EU nations revealed no significant history before 1997, requiring retailers to follow EU Novel Foods Regulation (EC) 258/97, for which marketers must demonstrate their products meet three criteria before they can be authorized for sale:

1. must not be unsafe
2. labelling must not be misleading
3. nutritional quality must not be inferior to other similar foods that they could replace

Proponents hope that this regulation provides important safeguards for consumers by checking whether new foods are suitable for the whole population, including people with food allergies. Opponents on the other hand fear that it will limit consumer choice and protect monopolistic interests rather than the public. Food safety in the EU relies importantly on a scientific basis for label information on foods like wolfberries that may have health benefits[68].

In June 2007, the FSA announced its decision that wolfberries indeed had a history of use in Great Britain before 1997[69][70]. Accordingly, wolfberries do not require registration as a novel food.

Marketing claims under scrutiny in Canada and the United States

In January 2007, marketing statements for a goji juice product were subject of an investigative report by CBC Television's consumer advocacy program Marketplace (TV series)[71].

In a review of medical literature pertaining to each proposed claim of health benefits from Himalayan Goji Juice[72] (Mindell and Handel, 2003), Gross et al. (2006, book chapter 6; see Article Bibliography) summarized that 22 of 23 claims had no evidence for providing a health benefit beyond that inferred from preliminary in vitro or laboratory animal research. For cancer specifically, four studies were reviewed in Chapter 4 of their book, but Gross et al. (2006) concluded the research was too preliminary to allow any conclusion about an anti-cancer effect of consuming wolfberries or wolfberry juice.

By one specific example in the CBC interview, Earl Mindell claimed the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York had completed clinical studies showing that use of wolfberry juice would prevent 75% of human breast cancer cases, a statement false in three ways:

1. no such project has been undertaken at Memorial Sloan-Kettering[73]
2. according to the National Cancer Institute of the US National Institutes of Health, no natural or pharmaceutical agent has been shown in clinical trials to fully prevent breast cancer, only to reduce its risk [74]; specifically, there are no completed or ongoing clinical trials in the United States testing the effects of wolfberries or juice on breast cancer outcomes [75] or any other disease[76] and
3. beyond preliminary laboratory studies[77] [78][79] and one Chinese clinical trial described only in an abstract[80], there is no scientific evidence for wolfberry phytochemicals or wolfberry juice having cancer-preventive properties (Gross, et al., 2006, chapters 4, 6).

Significant in nutrient and phytochemical composition, wolfberries are being developed[81][82][83][84][85] as new products in the functional food industry under FDA regulatory review since December, 2006 for label and marketing claims[86] as being conducted in 2007 by the European Union (above).

During 2006, the FDA placed two goji juice distributors on notice with warning letters about marketing claims. These statements were in violation of the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act [21 USC/321 (g)(1)][87] because they "establish the product as a drug intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease" when wolfberries or juice have had no such scientific evaluation. Additionally stated by the FDA, the goji juice was "not generally recognized as safe and effective for the referenced conditions" and therefore must be treated as a "new drug" under Section 21(p) of the Act. New drugs may not be legally marketed in the United States without prior approval of the FDA, as stated in the letters below:

• Dynamic Health Laboratories Inc. of Brooklyn, New York, May 8, 2006[88]
• Healthsuperstore.com of Elk Grove, California, August 7, 2006[89]

Bibliography

• Ai, Changshan (2002). Zhi Bu Liang Yi Hua Gou Qi (A Word About Lycium chinense, Effective for Therapy and Nutrition). Changchun, China: Jilin Ke Xue Ji Shu Chu Ban She. ISBN 7538424024. ISBN 9787538424027.
• Gross, Paul M.; Xiaoping Zhang; and Richard Zhang (2006). Wolfberry: Nature's Bounty of Nutrition & Health. Charleston, South Carolina, United States: BookSurge Publishing. ISBN 1419620487. ISBN 9781419620485.
• Mindell, Earl; and Rick Handel (2003). Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret. Momentum Media Health Series. Dallas, Texas, United States: Momentum Media. ISBN 0967285526. ISBN 9780967285528.
• Mindell, Earl (2005). Dr. Earl Mindell's Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret. 2nd ed. Lake Dallas, Texas, United States: Momentum Media. ISBN 0967285577. ISBN 9780967285573.
• Oyama, Sumita (1964). Kuko o Aishite Junen (Lycium chinense in Favorable Use for Ten Years). Tokyo, Japan: Shufu no Tomosha.
• Shufo no Tomosha (1963). Kuko no koyo (Medicinal and Therapeutic Effects of Lycium chinense). Tokyo, Japan.
• Takayama, Eiji (1966). Jinsei no Honbutai wa Rokujissai Kara: Furo Choju Kuko no Aiyo (The Real Stage in Life Begins at Sixty: Habitual Use of Lycium chinense for Longevity). Tokyo, Japan: Koyo Shobo
• Young, Gary; Ronald Lawrence; and Marc Schreuder (2005). Discovery of the Ultimate Superfood: How the Ningxia Wolfberry and Four Other Foods Help Combat Heart Disease, Cancer, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Diabetes and More. Orem, Utah, United States: Essential Science Publishing. ISBN 0943685443. ISBN 9780943685441.
• Zhang, Yanbo (2000). Molecular Approach to the Authentication of Lycium barbarum and its Related Species. M. Phil. thesis. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Baptist University
• Zhao, Yue (2005). The Market Prospect of Ningxia Wolfberry/Wolfberry Products in China. Thesis. Netherlands: University of Professional Education Larenstein Deventer.

External links

Botanical databases

• Flora of China citation for L. barbarum
• Flora of China citation for L. chinense
• Information about Lycium barbarum L. (matrimony vine) from the United States Department of Agriculture
• Plants For A Future database
• Species Records of Lycium, USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network -(GRIN). (Online Database). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
• Plant-life.org
• Plant viruses associated with L. barbarum and L. chinense, from the Plant Viruses Online VIDE database

Medical databases

• Searching for Lycium on the Pubmed database finds 146 papers of interest; 87 of these are for Lycium barbarum (1991 to July 2007) and 33 for Lycium chinense (1963 to July 2007).
• NHIondemand database
• PDR for Herbal Remedies

News stories

• "The Commercial Legend of Goji: Selling a Chinese Crop Under the Tibetan Flag" from TibetInfoNet, June 29, 2007
• "Fruitless Search for the Tibetan Goji Berry" by Simon Parry, from South China Morning Post, December 2, 2006 (PDF file)
• Photos from South China Morning Post article
• "Mysterious Chinese Berry Brings Solid Profits to Zhongning County, Ningxia" from China Daily, August 30, 2006
• "Wolfberry Festival in Ningxia" from China Daily, July 19, 2004
• Ningxia wolfberry news site (Chinese)
• BBC News coverage
• A Friendly Skeptic Looks at Goji Juice by Dr. Ralph Moss
• Berry Bad Things The Daily Truth by Jack Marx, Sydney Morning Herald, June 25, 2007

Video and Pictures

• CBC TV News report about Earl Mindell and Himalayan Goji Juice (video)
• Pictures of "medlar" harvest, July 2007, Xinhua

See also

• Gouqi jiu
• List of culinary fruits