Goji Berry Extract Capsules

Details :

• Goji berry (Lycium barbarum) is a type of fruit that grows on an evergreen shrub native to China, Mongolia, and the Tibetan Himalayas. Also known as wolfberry, the goji berry is rich in vitamin C, zeaxanthin, lutein, betaine, and compounds known as Lycium barbarum polysaccharides.
• Frequently consumed as a food, goji berries are slightly tart and sweet and can be eaten dried, raw, or cooked. The whole, dried berries have a similar shape and texture as raisins. They can be added to oatmeal, trail mix, salads, and beverages such as tea and smoothies and are also available in juice or powder form.

Uses :

Proponents claim that goji berries can help with a broad range of health issues, including :

• Age-related eye conditions
• Diabetes
• Fatigue
• High blood pressure 
• High cholesterol
• In traditional Chinese medicine, dried mature goji berry is known as Fructus lycii  or gou qi zi.

Health Benefits :

• Goji proponents suggest that consuming goji berries or drinking goji berry juice can boost health and stave off a host of health conditions. Goji berries, for instance, are purported to promote weight loss, sharpen eyesight, lift mood, improve circulation, and slow up the aging process.
• Despite these claims, there's a lack of evidence from large, well-designed clinical trials (the type of research needed to draw conclusions) confirming the claims. Here's a look at several findings from the available research :

Age-Related Eye Conditions :

• Goji berry has been explored for eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, and diabetic retinopathy. It is rich in Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (substances found to counteract oxidative stress) and zeaxanthin and lutein, carotenoids that form the "macular pigment" in the area of the eye known as the macula.
• Macular pigment is believed to be important for vision and for absorbing blue light (excessive exposure of this portion of the visible light spectrum, emitted by sunlight and electronic devices, may damage light-sensitive cells).

General Well-Being :

• Consuming goji berries on a regular basis may boost your general well-being, according to a  report  published in the Journal of Medicinal Food  in 2012. For the report, researchers looked at four previously published clinical trials (including a total of 161 participants) that tested the effects of daily intake of juice made with goji berries.
• In their analysis, the report's authors found that study members who consumed goji berry juice daily experienced significantly greater improvements in factors such as stress, sleep quality, and overall feelings of health compared to study members given a placebo each day.

High Cholesterol :

• A preliminary  study  published in the  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry  in 2017 indicates that goji berry extract may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in people with mildly high cholesterol who are considered overweight.
• For the study, participants consumed a goji berry extract or a placebo after one meal per day over an eight-week period. The study's authors observed that those who consumed the goji extract had a decrease in markers of inflammation.