Goji berry

Goji is a deciduous shrub 0.8–2 m tall (sometimes to 3 m), much-branched with short spines on young shoots. The alternate, simple leaves are lanceolate to ovate, 2–6 cm long with entire margins. Bisexual flowers grow singly or two to three per leaf axil, with a five-lobed calyx and a pale purple to purple, five-lobed funnel-shaped corolla and five stamens; they are insect-pollinated. The fruit is an ovoid to ellipsoid berry 1–2 cm long, glossy red-orange when ripe, containing many small yellow seeds. Flowering runs from June to September and fruit ripens from August to November; in temperate regions the shrub is leafless in winter.

According to Kew's Plants of the World Online (POWO), goji is native to northern and northwestern China (Ningxia, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang), where it grows by rivers, at forest edges and on dry mountain slopes. The berries have been cultivated on a large scale in Ningxia — a centre famous for more than 600 years, along the fertile floodplains of the Yellow River. The species has since spread across Asia and into southeastern Europe and has been introduced and naturalised in many places (Europe, North America, Australia). In Vietnam, goji is mainly imported as a medicine and is not widely grown because the hot, humid tropical climate does not suit it.

The fruit is dominated by polysaccharides and proteoglycans (Lycium barbarum polysaccharides, LBP; some analyses report up to about 23% of dry mass), followed by carotenoid pigments, chiefly zeaxanthin dipalmitate, together with β-carotene and lutein. The berries also contain betaine (trimethylglycine), choline, amino acids (including taurine), vitamin C, riboflavin, thiamin, scopoletin and flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, kaempferol). The roots and root bark (known as Digupi in Chinese medicine) contain betaine, choline, linoleic acid, β-sitosterol and cyclic oligopeptides.

In traditional Chinese medicine, goji is used to tonify the liver and kidneys, replenish essence and brighten the eyes; the berries are commonly added to soups, herbal decoctions and wine. Modern research focuses on LBP (immune modulation and antioxidant activity) and zeaxanthin (macular protection). Amagase and colleagues (Nutrition Research, 2009) reported that goji juice raised antioxidant markers (increased SOD and GSH-px, decreased MDA) in the serum of healthy adults after 30 days of use. Reviews from 2025–2026 (Food Chemistry; Pharmaceuticals) summarise antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, glucose- and lipid-modulating and potential anticancer activities of the fruit's compounds.

Goji berries are generally safe at food doses (commonly 10–30 g per day); caution is advised with anticoagulants such as warfarin because of possible interactions, and in people allergic to nightshades. Pregnant women should seek medical advice before high doses. The IUCN has not assessed the species (NE); goji has a wide natural range and is grown on a large commercial scale in Ningxia and elsewhere, so it faces no global conservation pressure.