Scientific Studies Including Goji Berries

Goji berries have a long history in Chinese medicine and traditional food, spanning back over 6,000 years. Naturally, many studies involving goji berries have been performed at Chinese universities. The most well known study found goji berries to improve the health of cancer patients. But since then, further insight into the health properties of the goji berry has been made. The College of Public Health at Wuhan University tested the effects of goji extract in 2004. Diabetic rabbits were used as the subjects. Scientists found an increase in HDL (“good” cholesterol) and a reduction in blood glucose level. Then, in 2006, XingJiang Agriculture University compared the anti-oxidant effects of goji to vitamin C on aging mice. Polysaccharides in the berry helped compensate for the age-related decline in the mice’s immune system. On the flip side of testing, goji berries have also undergone scrutiny as a toxin. Atropine, a toxic alkaloid, occurs naturally in goji berries. (It is important to remember that even more traditional health foods can contain trace amounts of toxins — cyanide in almonds being a prime example.) In September 2006, scientists at the University of Graz in Austria tested goji berries grown in China and Thailand. The resulting atropine levels were found to be far below toxic levels. So, the goji berry can safely continue to enjoy its rise as a benefactor of health and prosperity.