GOJI BERRY HEALTH BENEFITS

Scientific research from major universities around the world is beginning to confirm what the Tibetan healers have always known. To date there have been well over 50 studies which have been published in prestigious health journals, such as the British Journal of Nutrition, International Immunopharmacology, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Journal of Chinese Herbal Medicine and many more.

If you would like more information about the results of Goji research, two great places to visit are PubMed which is a service of the National Library of Medicine www.pubmed.gov and Medscape at www.intapp.medscape.com/px/medlineapp/medline?cid=med&adv=1
Type in the words “lycium barbarum” which is Goji berries’ Latin name, into their search bar. At the time of writing there are over 76 studies on Goji Berry at the PubMed website, and 48 at Medscape.

Just for a start we have listed four articles from the National Library of Medicine:

Enhanced Immune Response in Fighting Cancer
Institute of Pharmacy, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China.

The production of cytokine is a key event in the initiation and regulation of an immune response. Many compounds are now used routinely to modulate cytokine production, and therefore the immune response, in a wide range of diseases, such as cancer. Interleukin-2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha are two important cytokines in anti-tumour immunity. In this study, the effects of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide-protein complex (LBP(3p)) on the expression of interleukin-2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and bioassay. Administration of LBP(3p) increased the expression of interleukin-2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha at both mRNA and protein levels in a dose-dependent manner. The results suggest that LBP(3p) may induce immune responses and possess potential therapeutic efficacy in cancer.

Fatigue fighting abilities of pure Lycium barbarum polysaccharides.
Luo Q, Yan J, Zhang S. Department of Hygiene, Hubei Medical University, Wuhan 430071, China. March, 2000.

A purified component of lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP-X) was isolated from lycium barbarum L. by DEAE ion-exchange cellulose and sephacryl gel chromatography. LBP-X was tested on five different doses (5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 mg.kg-1.d-1) in mice. The results showed that LBP-X induced a remarkable adaptability to exercise load, enhanced resistance and accelerated elimination of fatigue. LBP-X could enhance the storage of muscle and liver glycogen, increase the activity of LDH before and after swimming, decrease the increase of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) after strenuous exercise, and accelerate the clearance of BUN after exercise. The dosage of LBP-X 10 mg.kg-1.d-1 was the best amount among the five tested doses.

Research on the role of Lycium barbarum polysaccharide in neutralizing cancer causing free radicals
Zhang S. Beijing Military General Hospital.

In this work, the changes in electrical parameters of cell membrane of Xenopus Oocytes were determined using routine microelectrode electrophysiological technique after incubation of the cells in frog Ringer solution containing free radical producing system for 6 hours. It was observed that the resting membrane potential was raised, and the membrane resistance and time constant were decreased. The effects of free radical on the cells can be prevented and reversed by incubation with superoxide dismutase or Lycium barbarum polysaccharide.

Observation of the positive effects of LAK/IL-2 therapy combining with Lycium barbarum polysaccharides in the treatment of 75 cancer patients
Cao GW, Yang WG, DuP. Second Military Medical University, Department of Microbiology, Shanghai.

Seventy nine advanced cancer patients in a clinical trial were treated with LAK/IL-2 combining with Lycium Barbarum polysaccharides (LBP). Initial results of the treatment from 75 evaluable patients indicated that objective regression of cancer was achieved in patients with malignant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, lung cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, malignant hydrothorax. The response rate of patients treated with LAK/IL-2 plus LBP was 40.9% while that of patients treated with LAK/IL-2 was 16.1% (P < 0.05). The mean remission in patients treated with LAK/IL-2 plus LBP also lasted significantly longer. LAK/IL-2 plus LBP treatment led to more marked increase in NK and LAK cell activity than LAK/IL-2 without LBP. The results indicate that LBP can be used as an adjuvant in the biotherapy of cancer.