Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Wolfberry or Goji Berry

Today I got an email pointing out the benefits of wolfberries or goji berries. They are high in vitamin C and very high in antioxidants. There are disputed claims of health benefits such as vision-related improvements, anti-cancer properties and stronger immune system. These berries also provide a long list of micronutrients and phytochemicals (a full list is given here). One has to take the claimed benefits used in marketing with a salt of grain, but nonetheless this plant seems to be promising and worth while a closer look. Next time I am in a health food store I will try to buy some of them, if possible grown locally rather than in China, to try them. Apparently they can be eaten straight, or with yogurt, or with the breakfast muesli.

The plant seems to have many different names in many languages: wolfsberry, goji berry in English, Gemeiner Bocksdorn, Teufelszwirn, Hexenzwirn in German, and Bayas de Goji, cambronera or licio in Spanish. The scientific botanic name is Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense.

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