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Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Progress of Goji Berry Plants
A note from California
Hello, thought you might be interested in plant progress.
This pic was taken w/cell-phone, but gives you an idea of how it looks.
Plant is about 4 1/2 Ft. tall.
Due to limited space in flower bed it was in Gal. pot first few mos.
Put in ground last Aug. (05). Sacramento, CA . (hot summers).
Seems to be thriving. Looking forward to the time it starts fruiting.
The plants are now out of dormancy which means that we will offer them again next fall. You can be placed on our waiting list by calling 800-822-6164. You can read more information about Goji plants at
Timpanogos Nursery.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Another Goji Believer!
Pam from Maine writes:
I love this product. I have been using herbs and supplements for years. I have never used a product in which I see results within a matter of a couple weeks. My energy level is improved and am noticing less wrinkles on my face. Thanks.
We love to hear of your experiences. If you would like to add to this blog, please send your experiences, with your permission to post them, to info@GojiBerryProducts.com
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Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Lycium Barbarum
With permission, we bring you this report by Dr. Dharmananda on Lycium Barbarum which is the scientific name for the Goji plant.
LYCIUM FRUIT
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
Lycium fruit is an herb derived from Lycium chinense and Lycium barbarum, common plants of eastern Asia. The root bark of the same plants is also used medicinally throughout Eastern Asia. Lycium is in the Solanacea family that gives us hot peppers, eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, and other food items. The fruit is known by the Chinese name gouqizi, and has been used since ancient times, recorded in the earliest existing Chinese materia medica published around 100 A.D.
TRADITIONAL AND MODERN USES
Traditionally, lycium fruit is described as having the properties of nourishing the blood, enriching the yin, tonifying the kidney and liver, and moistening the lungs. It is applied in the treatment of such conditions as consumptive disease accompanied by thirst (includes early-onset diabetes and tuberculosis), dizziness, blurred vision, diminished visual acuity, and chronic cough. Several modern clinical trials for treatment of bone marrow deficiency conditions (low production of red blood cells, platelets, or white blood cells) include lycium fruit in a complex prescription for alleviating the disorder.
When making a decoction (tea prepared by boiling the herb in water), 6-18 grams of fruit are used for a daily dose, usually in combination with other herbs, for one to three months as a typical course of therapy (lycium is also used in anti-aging formulas, consumed for years). In the treatment of atrophic gastritis (weakened digestion due to reduced activity of the stomach cells), it has been used by having the patients consume the whole fruits in the amount of 10 grams each time, twice daily before meals (for two months). In the treatment of diabetes, steamed lycium fruit is eaten in the dose of 10 grams each time, three times daily (steaming softens the fruits). Thus, the daily dosage range of 10-30 grams is typical of medical applications in China.
CONSTITUENTS AND PHARMACOLOGY
The fruit contains beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamins B1 and B2, beta-sitosterol (an anti-inflammatory agent), linoleic acid (a fatty acid), immunologically active polysaccharides (5-8%), sesquiterpenoids (cyperone, solavetivone), tetraterpenoids (zeaxanthin, physalin), and betaine (0.1%).
Chinese pharmacological research, conducted during the past forty years, revealed that lycium extracts administered to mice could enhance non-specific immunity, promote production of red blood cells, increase production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), and reverse the inhibition of white blood cells caused by cancer drugs. The principal active components are polysaccharides, betaine, and physalin.
In a review of research on lycium fruit appearing in Recent Advances in Chinese Herbal Drugs, Dr. Zhou Jinhuang points out that polysaccharides from lycium fruit, like those from astragalus and ganoderma, enhance cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. In a dose of just 5-10 mg/kg daily for one week, lycium fruit polysaccharides could increase activity of T cells, cytotoxic T cells, and natural killer cells in laboratory animals. The amount of polysaccharides in lycium fruit of the soft edible variety is probably not more than 5%, so this amount corresponds to a human dosage of about 7-14 grams of the whole fruit. In a study of lycium, reported in the Journal of the Beijing Medical University (1992), it was noted that lycium fruit reduced antibodies associated with allergy-type reactions, which was presumed to be accomplished through the mechanisms of promoting CD8 T cells and regulating cytokines. Probably as a result of this activity, lycium fruit has been reported to be a useful treatment for psoriasis.
Several plant polysaccharides have been shown to enhance IL-2 production; the enhancing effect of lycium polysaccharides on IL-2 activity was reported by the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Beijing (1989). In the U.S., IL-2 has been under study as an immune promoting factor since 1983, used for some cancers and for HIV infection.
Betaine, when added to chicken feed, enhances growth of the animals and egg production, and it is currently used in poultry farming because of these effects. Lycium fruit given to rats lowered their blood cholesterol and blood sugar; given to rabbits, it inhibited the formation of atherosclerosis. Betaine was shown to protect the livers of laboratory animals from the impact of toxic chemicals; other pharmacologic studies have shown that it is an anticonvulsant, sedative, and vasodilator.
In 1974, it was reported that betaine could treat various chronic liver diseases; lycium fruit is often administered with another Chinese herbal fruit, schizandra, for that purpose. In recent years, betaine has been included in some Western nutritional supplement products, especially those used for improving muscle mass. Betaine is an alkaloid, sometimes classed as an amino acid, that is found also in capsicum, silybum (the source of the liver-protective flavonoid silymarin), and beets (Beta vulgaris, from which betaine gets its name). Betaine is used by the liver to produce choline, a compound which calms nervousness, enhances memory, and protects against fatty liver disease. In the sugar beet, which is the commercial source of the isolated compound, betaine is present at a level of 0.3-0.7%.
Another plant in the Solanaceae family, Physalis angulata, contains physalin (one of the lycium ingredients) as a major active component. The herb is used as a treatment for hepatitis B. Extracts of physalis have been shown to increase splenic natural killer cell activity in normal and tumor-bearing mice, with anticancer effects for several cancer lines.
Lycium fruit has been given to treat sexual impotence. It was reported that by taking lycium fruit orally and in the form of an alcohol extract, it could markedly increase androgen levels in the blood, making patients feel more energetic. It is likely that sitosterols or terpenoids are responsible for this effect. The daily dosage of lycium fruit needed to obtain these effects is about 10 grams/day.
Like other commonly eaten fruits, lycium is non-toxic. Toxicity studies showed that injection of 2.4 grams/kg of lycium fruit extract did not cause adverse reactions, but at the huge dosage of 25 g/kg, toxic reactions were rapid. The LD50 was determined to be about 8.3 grams/kg (about one pound of the dried fruit, extracted and injected, for a human).
LYCIUM AS A SOURCE OF IMMUNE-ENHANCING POLYSACCHARIDES
In a review of immune enhancing polysaccharides (ITM, 1993), it was suggested that a daily dose of about 3.5 grams per day of active polysaccharides would be a reasonable minimum dosage to accomplish substantial effects in relation to inhibiting cancer or chronic viral infection. A similar dosage level, 3.0 grams/day, was determined recently at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute (personal communication). To obtain this amount solely from eating lycium fruit (assuming 5% polysaccharides) might be difficult: the daily dose would be 60-70 grams. However, if the lycium fruit is taken along with other polysaccharide-rich supplements, it can represent an important contribution to the desired total daily dose. The good taste of lycium fruit, and the ability to consume it directly-cooked in foods, included in herbal wines, and in tablets-makes it an ideal source. It is also inexpensive. A daily dose of about 30-35 grams of the fruit in crude form has a cost of only about a dollar. Experience of more than 300 patients at the Immune Enhancement Project in Portland shows that adverse reactions to lycium fruit do not occur with the dosages suggested above, confirming the reports from China.
December 1997
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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Do you beleive in Goji?
This is an email sent in by one of our customers as a testimonial of how Goji Berries may have influenced his life.
A. Kaplowitz from NY wrote:
I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma back in October of 2003 and I can tell your readers after going through chemo and radiation that it wasn't a pleasurable experience. I did a lot of research into the cause of disease and whether viral or bacterial, it seemed that taking care of our immune systems was the best defense against medical problems like cancer. Then by accident while doing a bit of surfing on the net, I found an article on Goji Berries. Amazing what you can find in these little red wonders, and I've never looked back since making my first purchase a couple of months ago.
As I 'm in the medical profession, I always wondered about the hype of new products and the placebo effect. I have to say I was really surprised at how well I began to feel after about two weeks on the berries, taking 1/4 cup per day. I also only drink purified water with a Ph of 9 that ultimately gets buffered down to the 7.0 to 7.5 range which is just about neutral.
The proof I was looking for came when I had to go back for my monthly visit to the Oncologist and have my blood checked out. Needless to say, my doctor was a bit surprised to see my values as strong as they were and asked if I had been doing something, anything different? All I told him was that I hadn't really changed anything and was thankful that things seemed to be going my way.
I recently read an article that was found in JAMA in which the work of Dr. Pauling was finally realized. That Vitamin C was one of the best anti-oxidents one could find. Goji Berries are loaded with C as well as many other beneficial compounds. My sincerest hope, is that people through self awarness and education, can and will continue to make educated decisions about their health. As I said, I made mine, and have no need to look back. I'm disease free and plan on staying that way with a little help from my friends and a big part of that help will come from a bright little red berry that packs a whole lot of positive punch.
Many thanks again for this continued experience in health and well being.
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Thursday, October 6, 2005
Growing your own Goji Berry Plants
These are some emails we received from people growing Goji Berry plants here in the United States. These plants were purchased from
Timpanogos Nursery.
David from TN wrote:
I ordered a 12" plant this past spring. It grew well. The flea beatles loved it, though. Japanese beatles did not touch it. However after it grew 2' tall rabbits came and ate it back to about 6". It is a tough plant though. It leafed right back out, and the rabbits came back and defoliated it again! This time I caged it with rabbit wire 3' tall. It has grown back again is now about 2.5'- 3' tall. Maybe I'll get berries next year.
Derek from Huntington Beach, California wrote:
I bought 2 Goji plants early part of this year. I gave one away and it is apparently doing fine. I planted one in the ground and I have it growing up a trellise approx 3 feet. The plant seems to be healthy. I cant wait until next year and the plant produces berries!
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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Goji Berry Availability
Goji Berries are now being harvested in Inner Mongolia. The harvest season lasts through the middle of October. The wet weather has taken its toll on the drying process, and this is one of the reasons that Goji Berry shipments have been delayed to other companies. Once the berries have sufficiently dried, they board a ship in a refrigerated container. It takes about a month for the berries to reach U.S. soil and clear customs. The reason that Skyline Orchards has had Goji berries while the other companies have not is that they air freighted enough Goji berries to supply our customers needs until their slow boat container arrived last week. The brand new crop is of exceptional quality, as it has been a good year for Goji berries.
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Friday, September 09, 2005
ORAC Scale
The Oxygen Radical absorbency Capacity (ORAC) Scale was developed at Tuff's University. The scale shows the antioxidant levels of foods. Here are the results of that test on foods considered to be high in antioxidants.
Oranges 750
Raspberries 1,220
Spinach 1,260
Strawberries 1,540
Blueberries 2,400
Prunes 5,700
Goji Berries 25,300
As you can see Gojiberries contain extremely high levels of antioxidants. The data clearly shows that this berry has nutritional values that may support the use of the Goji Berry as ancient Tibetan Medicine.
Antioxidants work with your body at a cellular level by protecting it from cell ravaging free radicals. Free radicals are atoms with an odd number of electrons. These free radicals cause damage to other healthy cells by stealing electrons. Antioxidants have extra electrons to balance things out. Free radicals are blamed for a myriad of health problems, but can be avoided by our intake of these natural Antioxidants.
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