Wolfberry

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

Wolfberry
Lycium barbarum fruits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Genus: Lycium
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)

Wolfberry is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 宁夏枸杞; pinyin: Níngxià gǒuqǐ) and L. chinense (Chinese: 枸杞; pinyin: gǒuqǐ), 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, including in China.^[1]

It is also known as Chinese Wolfberry, Red Medlar, Bocksdorn, Cambronera^[2], Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree,^[3] or Matrimony Vine^[4]. The name Tibetan goji berry is in common use in the health food market for berries from this plant.

Contents 1 Significance 2 Description 2.1 Leaves and flower 2.2 Fruit 3 Etymology 4 Cultivation 4.1 China 4.1.1 Pesticide use 4.2 Tibetan goji berry 4.3 Importance of cultivar 4.4 United Kingdom 5 Uses 5.1 Medicinal 5.2 Culinary 6 Nutrient content 6.1 Macronutrients 6.2 Micronutrients and phytochemicals 6.3 Ningxia wolfberries 6.4 Functional food and beverage applications 7 Marketing 7.1 Commercial products marketed outside Asia 7.1.1 Marketing claims under scrutiny in Europe 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links 10.1 Botanical databases 10.2 Medical databases 10.3 News stories 10.4 Video 11 See also

[edit] Significance

Renowned in Asia as one of nature's most nutrient-rich natural foods, wolfberries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for nearly 2,000 years. 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.

Currently in the United States, other such industrialized countries, and the global functional food industry, there is rapidly growing recognition of wolfberries for their nutrient richness and antioxidant qualities, giving them commercial status as a novel "superfruit" [16][17].

[edit] Description

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 having fragrance and edible fruit like the relatives potato, tomato, eggplant, and wolfberry.

Lastly, Solanaceae is the nightshade superfamily that includes hundreds of plant foods like those above, herbs (paprika), crop commodities (tobacco), and flowers (petunia).

[edit] 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.

[edit] Fruit

These species produce a bright orange-red, ellipsoid berry 1-2 cm long. 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 August to October in the Northern hemisphere.

[edit] Etymology

"Wolfberry" is the most commonly used English name for the plant, while gǒuqǐ (枸杞) is the Chinese name. 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"^[3] and "matrimony vine."^[4] Wolfberry is also known pharmacologically as Lycii Fructus, meaning "Lycium fruit" in Latin.

Lycium, the genus name, is believed to derive from the ancient southern Anatolian region of Lycia (Λυκία). An alternate interpretation is that the Greek word for wolf, "lycos" (λύκος), applied to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, or "wolf-peach") by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, was assigned to wolfberry as a cousin of the tomato, both being members of the plant family Solanaceae. 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., represents the nomenclature system devised by Linnaeus, the father of modern biological taxonomy. Lycium barbarum L. was apparently first named in the Linnaeus system in 1753 when the monograph for Solanaceae was assembled, and L. chinense was first described by the Scottish botanist Philip Miller in his eighth edition of The Gardener's Dictionary, published in 1768.

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 used as vernacular among China's many dialects and exploited as a unique term by those marketing wolfberry products in the West.

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);[18] and in Thailand the plant is called găo gèe (เก๋ากี่). In Tibetan the plant is called dre-tsher-ma (), with dre meaning "ghost" and tsher-ma meaning "thorn"; and the name of the fruit is dre-tsher-mai-dre-bu (), with dre-bu meaning "fruit."

[edit] Cultivation

[edit] 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. The reputation of wolfberries from Ningxia, where they grow abundantly along the fertile aggradational floodplains of the Yellow River, is widespread throughout Asia. 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 or 72 million lbs., 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[19]

In addition, commercial volumes of wolfberries grow in the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. 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.

Consumed in China over centuries, 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).[20] The fruit is claimed by its Western marketers to be nicknamed the "happy berry" because of the sense of well-being it is said to induce, although it is unclear what the original Chinese term for this is.

[edit] Pesticide 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.[21] 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 does not yet exist in China.

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[22] is in actuality simply an agricultural training program for China's rural poor.[23] China's Green Food Standard,[24] administered by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture's China Green Food Development Center, does permit some amount of pesticide and herbicide use.[25][26][27]

[edit] 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 [28] (or sometimes "the Tibetan and Mongolian Himalayas"[29], a misnomer because the Himalayas do not extend into Mongolia, which lies approximately 1000 miles to the northeast)[30]. 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[31].

Although Lycium species do grow in some regions of Tibet, commercial export production of wolfberries in the Tibetan Himayalas must be a myth ^[5] 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 valleys, bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond sparse, low bushes[32].

The Tibetan Plateau, comprising most of Tibet north of the Himalayas, lies at more than 10,000 feet 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 [33] with six months of continual frost[34] 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.

[edit] Importance of cultivar

Described in ancient Chinese texts, gǒuqǐ (wolfberry, named Lycium barbarum L. in 1753) has existed 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.[35] 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.[36] [37]

[edit] 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. ^[6]

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.^[7]

[edit] Uses

Wolfberries are almost never found in their fresh form outside of their production regions, and are usually sold in open bins 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.

[edit] Medicinal

Wolfberries, and Lycium root bark (the latter called dìgǔpí; 地骨皮; in Chinese)^photo 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, lung, and kidney channels and enrich yin. They can be eaten raw, consumed as juice or wine, brewed into a 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. The leaves are also sometimes used as a tea.[38]

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^[8], although none of these has been proved by peer-reviewed research. Wolfberry polysaccharides show antioxidant activity in vitro^[9] 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.^[10][11] 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 .^[12][13]

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.^[14][15] A human supplementation trial showed that daily intake of wolfberries increased plasma levels of zeaxanthin.^[16]

Several published studies, mostly from China, have also reported possible medicinal benefits of Lycium barbarum, especially due to its antioxidant properties^[17], including potential benefits against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases^{[18] [19]}, vision-related diseases^[20] (such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma^[21]), having neuroprotective properties^[22] or as an anticancer^[23] and immunomodulatory agent.^[24]

However, very little of this research has been confirmed by western science, approved as clinical conclusions, or accepted by regulatory authorities.

[edit] 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,^[25][26][27] including some that are a blend of grape wine and wolfberries.^photo At least one Chinese company also produces wolfberry beer.^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 craisins or raisins, though drier, more tart, less sweet and with an herbal scent.

[edit] Nutrient content

[edit] 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,^[28][29] of which 272 come from carbohydrates, and 90 of which come from fat.^[30]

[edit] Micronutrients and phytochemicals

Wolfberries contain many nutrients and phytochemicals^[28][29] 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^[28][29]

• 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^[28][29] 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 [39] to 200 mg per 100 grams [40]. The higher values would make wolfberry one of the richest edible plant sources known for zeaxanthin content.[41] Up to 77% of total carotenoids present in wolfberry exist as zeaxanthin.[42]
• 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[43]. 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].

[edit] 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[44].

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[45] -- 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.^[28][29]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

Likely its most recognized nutritional attribute has been an exceptional vitamin C content reported among the highest in natural plants[46]. However, the amount of vitamin C in dried berries is actually in a range of 29-148 mg per 100 grams of fruit,^[28][29] still a healthful serving amount comparable to citrus fruits and raspberries.

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.

[edit] 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."[47][48][49] "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.

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.

The main supplier of wolfberry products in the world, China, had total exports generating US$120 million in 2004. This production derived from 82,000 hectares farmed nationwide, yielding 95,000 tons of wolfberries.^[31]

[edit] Marketing claims under scrutiny in Europe

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[50]. 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

This regulation provides important safeguards for consumers by checking whether new foods are suitable for the whole population, including people with food allergies. Food safety in the EU relies importantly on a scientific basis for label information on foods like wolfberries that may have health benefits[51].

If no new evidence comes to light before March 23, 2007, the FSA will inform food businesses and enforcement bodies that, under EU legislation, wolfberries "will be considered novel and cannot be sold legally" until they have been formally authorized.

Although there are no immediate safety concerns over wolfberries, this step by the FSA and EU is the first western standardization of wolfberry products, a process assured to refine understanding of the nutritional and antioxidant properties of the berries.

[edit] References

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

[edit] 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

[edit] Medical databases

• Searching for Lycium on the Pubmed database finds 146 papers of interest; 76 of these are for Lycium barbarum (November 2006).
• NHIondemand database
• PDR for Herbal Remedies

[edit] News stories

• "Wolfberry Festival in Ningxia", from China Daily, July 19, 2004
• Ningxia wolfberry news site (Chinese)
• BBC News coverage
• "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
• A Friendly Skeptic Looks at Goji Juice By Dr. Ralph Moss

[edit] Video

• CBC TV News report about Earl Mindell and Himalayan Goji Juice

[edit] See also

• Gouqi jiu

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