Wolfberry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

iWolfberry
These are the fruits of Lycium barbarum.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Genus: Lycium
Species
Lycium barbarum L. Lycium chinense Miller Lycium halimifolium Miller

Wolfberry is the common name for the fruit of Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 宁夏枸杞; pinyin: Níngxià gǒuqǐ) or 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, Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree,^[2] or Matrimony Vine^[3]. 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 4.2 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: Importance of soil and growing region 6.4 Functional food and beverage applications 7 Marketing 7.1 Commercial products marketed outside Asia 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Significance

Renowned in Asia as one of nature's most nutrient-rich natural foods, wolfberries have been associated in traditional Chinese medicine as long as recorded Chinese history, a period of 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 2800 BC.

Currently in the United States, other first-world countries, and the global functional food industry, there is a rapidly growing recognition of wolfberries for their nutrient richness and antioxidant qualities.

[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. L. halimifolium (Miller) is also common to Ningxia.

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 above) 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"^[2] and "matrimony vine."^[3] Wolfberry is also known pharmacologically as Lycii Fructus, meaning "lycium fruit" in Latin).

Lycium, the genus name, is believed to derive from the ancient Mid-Asian region of Lydia whereas barbarum, the species name, suggests that the plant was of foreign origin, perhaps originating outside China. Together, these names are used as specific botanical identifiers in the binomial (or binary) epithet. The end abbreviation, L., represents the nomenclature system devised by Carolus Linnaeus, the father of modern biological taxonomy. Lycium barbarum L. was apparently first named in the Linnaeus system in 1753.

In the English-speaking world, "goji berry" has been widely used in recent years as a synonym for wolfberry. While the origin of this spelling is unclear, it is probably a simplified pronunciation of gǒuqǐ.

In Japan the plant is known as kuko (クコ), in Korea the berries are known as gugija (hangul: 구기자; hanja: 枸杞子), and in Thailand the plant is called găo gèe (เก๋ากี่).

[edit] Cultivation

[edit] China

The majority of commercially produced wolfberries come from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of north-central China. The reputation of wolfberries from Ningxia, where they grow abundantly, 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 medicinal grade ("super-grade") wolfberries[8]

In addition, wolfberries also grow in the Chinese regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. The oblong, red berries (photo top right) 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.

The berry has been eaten locally in Asia for centuries and since 2001 has been celebrated with an annual festival held each August in Ningxia, to coincide with the wolfberry harvest there (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).[9] The fruit is nicknamed the "happy berry" because of the sense of well-being it is said to induce.

[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 [10] (or sometimes "the Tibetan and Mongolian Himalayas," [11] a misnomer because the Himalayas do not extend into Mongolia, which lies approximately 1000 miles to the northeast)[12]. Although none of the companies marketing such berries specifies the exact location in the Himalayas or Tibet where their berries are 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.[13]

As a significant source of Lycium barbarum L., goji berry production in the Tibetan Himayalas - home to the world's tallest mountains - must be a fabricated myth created for a marketing advantage, as the Himalayan mountain range is a region inhospitable to commercial cultivation of plant foods of any kind. Low temperatures are prevalent year round in the Himalayan valleys throughout southern and western Tibet where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond sparse, low bushes.

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, year-round cold night-time temperatures and frost 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 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.

On the internet can be found references to a special Tibetan goji specie that may be called Lycium eleganus, Lycium eleganus barbarum or Lycium eleagnus (eleganus or eleagnus, both are mis-spellings).

Elaeagnus (Silverberry or Oleaster) is a genus of about 50-70 species of flowering plants in the Elaeagnaceae olive 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 is the original Lycium barbarum or an improved cultivar of it. 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 specie of Elaeagnus or vice versa [14] [15].

[edit] United Kingdom

Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll delighted in growing exotic trees and shrubs in his garden at Whitton in Middlesex (he was nicknamed the 'Treemonger' by Horace Walpole ) and introduced the plant into the United Kingdom in the 1730's 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. ^[4]

The plant continues to grow wild in UK hedgerows. On 15th 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.^[5]

[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 are usually used directly, and do not need to be rehydrated prior to use.

[edit] Medicinal

Wolfberries and Lycium bark 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, or prepared as a tincture.

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.

A human supplementation trial showed that a daily intake of wolfberries increased plasma zeaxanthin levels^[6]

There are also many published studies, mostly from China, on the possible medicinal benefits of Lycium barbarum, especially due to its antioxidant properties^[7], including potential benefits against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, vision-related diseases^[8] (such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma^[9]), having neuroprotective properties^[10] or as an anticancer^[11] and immunomodulatory agent.^[12] However, 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 also eaten raw or cooked. Their taste is similar to that of raisins, though sometimes drier, more tart and less sweet, with a slight Chinese herbal scent. Dried wolfberry is an ingredient often used in Chinese soups. Young shoots and leaves are also grown commercially as a leaf vegetable. A wine containing wolfberries (called gǒuqǐ jiǔ; 枸杞酒) is also produced.^[13]

[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,^[14][15] of which 272 come from carbohydrates, and 90 of which come from fat.^[16]

[edit] Micronutrients and Phytochemicals

Wolfberries contain high levels of many nutrients. These values are for 100 grams of the dried berry.^[14][15]

1. Calcium. Wolfberries contain 112 mg per 100 gram serving, providing about 8-10% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI).
2. Potassium. Wolfberries contain 1,132 mg per 100 grams dried fruit, giving about 24% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for potassium.
3. Iron. Wolfberries have 9 mg iron per 100 grams (100% DRI).
4. Zinc. 2 mg per 100 grams dried fruit (18% DRI).
5. Selenium. 100 grams of dried wolfberries contain 50 micrograms (91% DRI)
6. Riboflavin (vitamin B2). At 1.3 mg, 100 grams of dried wolfberries provide 100% of DRI.
7. 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. The lower value is 32% of the DRI.

Wolfberries also contain several phytochemicals^[14][15] for which there are no established DRI values.

1. Beta carotene: 7 mg per 100 grams dried fruit.
2. Zeaxanthin. Reported values for zeaxanthin content in dried wolfberries vary considerably, from 25 mg per 100 grams [16] to 200 mg per 100 grams [17]. The higher values would make wolfberry one of the richest edible plant sources known for zeaxanthin content.[18] Up to 77% of total carotenoids present in wolfberry exist as zeaxanthin.[19]
3. Polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are a major constituent of wolfberries, representing up to 31% of pulp weight.

[Note on micronutrient and phytochemicals 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: Importance of soil and growing region

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.

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 35 kg for every cubic meter of water -- the highest silt density measured.

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

The dense mineral content of Gansu loess, therefore, may be the origin of enriched soil nourishing Ningxia wolfberries.^[14][15]

[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 extensive 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[20]. However, the amount of vitamin C in dried berries is actually in a range of 29-148 mg per 100 grams of fruit,^[14][15] still a healthful serving amount similar 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).^{[citation needed]}

[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 of several berry and other fruit juices are used for nearly all "wolfberry" juice products, many of which are labeled "goji" juice.

During 2005 to 2006, wolfberry has been increasingly mentioned in reports on the emerging functional food industry as an "exotic superfruit." "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, 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.^[17]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lycium barbarum

• BBC News coverage
• NHIondemand database
• PDR for Herbal Remedies
• Plant-life.org
• A Friendly Skeptic Looks at Goji Juice By Dr. Ralph Moss
• Searching for Lycium on the Pubmed database finds 146 papers of interest; 76 of these are for Lycium barbarum (November 2006).
• Plants For A Future database
• Information about Lycium barbarum L. (matrimony vine) from the United States Department of Agriculture
• Wolfberry festival in Ningxia
• Plant viruses associated with Lycium barbarum (goji) from the Plant Viruses Online VIDE database
• Flora of China Citation[[pt:Goji]