Chemical Characterization, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Goji Berries Cultivated in Serbia

Abstract

Since the fruits of Lycium L. species (Fructus Lycii, goji berries) are promoted as a “superfood” with plenty of health benefits, there is extensive research interest in their nutritional and phytochemical composition. In the present study, the nutritional value, minerals, fatty acid composition, and bioactive compounds of L. barbarum L., red, yellow, and black goji berry (L. ruthenicum Murray.) cultivated in Serbia were investigated. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of their methanol extracts were assessed. Red goji berry had the highest content of fats, dietary fiber, iron, total carotenoids, and 2-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2βG). The yellow goji berry extract showed the highest level of flavonoids and the most prominent antimicrobial (especially against Gram-negative bacteria) properties. The highest total phenolic content and the most potent antioxidant activity were observed for the extract of black goji berry. Therefore, all goji berries could be a valuable source of bioactive compounds in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Physico-chemical Properties, Mineral Matter, Organic Acid, Amino Acid, and Plant Hormones Content of Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum L.) Grown in Turkey

“…In our study, the protein content of goji berry was determined as 13.18%. In similar studies, the content of protein in fresh goji berry Ilić et al (2020) 2020) 3.5-20.3% found it to be. Our conclusion is consistent with the data from previous studies, that goji berries have significant potential to provide the required daily protein for adults (0.8 g/kg body weight).…”

“…The pH and titratable acidity of goji berries were determined as 5.18% and 2.16%, respectively. Zhang et al (2016) determined the titratable acidity of goji berry fruit 0.8-1.4%, Ilić et al (2020) 0.70-0.89%, Catav and Pırlak (2020) determined it as 0.05-0.19. It is seen in our study that the titration acidity value is within the range of the reported values.…”

“…It is seen in our study that the titration acidity value is within the range of the reported values. The pH value of goji fruit has been reported as 4.98-5.71 Catav and Pırlak (2020) and 4.71 Ilić et al (2020).…”

Metabolomic Profiling of Fresh Goji (Lycium barbarum L.) Berries from Two Cultivars Grown in Central Italy: A Multi-Methodological Approach

“…Regarding the single classes of unsaturated fatty acids, di-unsaturated fatty acids (DUFA) were measured as the most abundant, showing the same content in the BL cultivar and a slight increase in SL. Mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) generally increased during the time for both cultivars, with the lowest content measured in SL1 that, on the contrary, was characterized by the highest amount of tri-unsaturated fatty acids (TUFA), generally present in low concentrations [ 30 , 31 ]. Regarding polar lipids, the BL cultivar showed an increase of digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) and a decrease in phosphatidylcholine (PC) during the time.…”

Biochemical characterization of fruits of Lycium spp. in Ukraine

“…The Lycium fruits contain phenolics, flavonoids, organic acids, and fatty acids (Wang et al, 2010;Mikulic-Petkovsek et al, 2012) and are also high in vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin C (Donno et al, 2014;Niro et al, 2017), carotenoids , polysaccharides (Luo et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2010), betaine (Xie et al, 2001;Lee et al, 2014;Qian et al, 2017), and taurine (Potterat, 2010), have high mineral concentrations (Grembecka & Szefer, 2013). With such a rich biochemical composition, goji fruits are very widely used in pharmacology due to their high anti-cancer (Tang et al, 2012;Cumaoglu et al, 2018), anti-hyperglycemic (Potterat, 2010;Wojdyło et al, 2018), anti-inflammatory (Liu et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2017), anti-aging properties Wojdyło et al, 2018), and antioxidant properties (Illić et al, 2020). Not only do the fruits contain biologically active substances, but also other parts of plants, especially leaves (Chen et al, 2020;Szot et al, 2020).…”