Goji or wolfberry is a common name given to Lycium barbarum and L. chinense, two close species with a long tradition of use as medicinal and food plants in China and other Asian countries. Both species, L. barbarum and L. chinense, have been used for more than 2000 years in the traditional Chinese Medicine with early records tracing back to the Tang Dynasty (1000-1400 AD). The medicinal tradition not only uses the berries (fructus Lycii) as a renowned Yin strengthening agent but also the root bark (cortex Lycii radicis) as a cooling agent. The utilization of the leaves and the seeds is also mentioned in a few medicinal books. Nowadays, leaves of L. chinense are used in tea infusions in the Orient, and are considered as a healthful food.
While L. chinense is less known than L. barbarum, it is also a traditional Chinese herb considered an ingredient for health and longevity, and a tonic for reducing the risk of arteriosclerosis and arterial hypertension. The typical metabolites from L. chinense fruits can be classified in three categories, i.e., polysaccharides, carotenoids, and flavonoids, which possess antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects. The roots then contain alkaloids, cyclic peptides, flavonoids, coumarins, terpenoids, organic acids, and their derivatives. Of which, acyclic diterpene glycosides are certainly the most interesting constituents in the leaves, while flavonoids and miscellaneous phenols represent further groups of important metabolites to provide antioxidant effects.
To better use the Taiwanese traditional herbal medicine, L. chinense was cultivated as a treasured crop by Miaoli District Agricultural Research and Extension Station since 2001. After 12 years of effort, the cultivation of L. chinense has been successfully popularized in Miaoli and it is ready to promote for its application in products. In this study we developed food products and dietary supplements with L. chinense. To increase our knowledge in the pharmacological and nutraceutical effects of L. chinense, TLC and HPLC analyses of phenolic composition in the leaf products were also executed.