Goji

Goji berries are the small red fruits of the Lycium Barbarum L., a spontaneous growing bush of Tibetan origin, closely related to the Solanaceae family, like tomato, eggplant and pepper plants, so to speak…

For thousands of years, Goji has represented the fountain of eternal youth in traditional Chinese medicine. Since in 2600 b.C. the emperor Chen Nung, an expert in medicinal plants, made these little red berries famous by introducing their value and potential in the Far East.

Alongside the Lycium Barbarum L. there are several species congeners, like the well-known Lycium Chinense. These two varieties are often confused for each other as they are very similar, even if an experienced eye would notice immediately a different morphology.
The first species produces bigger berries, orange, never red colour, with lanceolate leaves, but the main difference is that the fruit is sweet, juicy and very palatable.
The other instead, by contrast, is bright red, its leaves shorter and wider, and it has an unpleasant, bitter aftertaste.

But the reason the Goji is so sought-after and so famous that it has defined “the longevity fruit”, lies in its high antioxidant power, in fact it holds first place in the table ORAC table (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity).

The Italian Minister for Health has added it to the list of vegetable extracts as an antioxidant supplement (legislative decree law n.169 of 21st May 2004).