Potential of galled leaves of Goji (Lycium chinense) as functional food

Abstract

Background: Goji (Lycium) is a popular traditional health food, and its fruit and root extracts have been found to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypocholesterolemia-inducing abilities. Goji leaves also contain high amounts of phenolic compounds, similar to its fruit, and their extracts also exhibit several pharmaceutical effects. The induction of galls on Goji leaves reduces their photosynthetic ability and fruit yield, which raise their farming costs, thereby leading to economic loss. However, the defense mechanisms induced by infection may elevate the secondary metabolite content of the leaves, which might provide more nutritive compounds. Method: Content of chlorophyll, carotenoids, polyphenols, and flavonoids in the extracts of normal and infected Goji leaves (L. chinense) were analyzed. The relative content of chlorogenic acid and rutin, two major phenolic compounds in Goji leaves, were determined by LC-MS/MS. Antioxidant activity was presented by demonstrating the DPPH scavenging percentage. The extract of Goji fruit (L. barbarum) was also analyzed to show a comparative result. Results: In this study, we found that in infected Goji leaves, the polyphenol content was significantly increased. The level of chlorogenic acid was increased by 36% in galled leaves. The content of rutin in galled leaves was also elevated. Testing the antioxidant activities also showed that the extracts of galled leaves have higher DPPH scavenging abilities. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that galled Goji leaves have higher functional value, and may have potential as being consumed as health food.

Health-Promoting Capacities of In Vitro and Cultivated Goji (Lycium chinense Mill.) Fruit and Leaves; Polyphenols, Antimicrobial Activity, Macro- and Microelements and Heavy Metals

“…In this study, a significantly higher concentration of chlorogenic acid was detected in the leaves grown in the orchard than in vitro (Table 4). This is in accordance with the results obtained by Chen et al [13], who also confirmed that in goji fruit the concentration of chlorogenic acid is very low in comparison to the leaves. This demonstrates that goji leaves are a valuable source of chlorogenic acid Flavonoids, belonging to polyphenolic compounds, are also commonly found in plants, especially in fruit and vegetables [33].…”

“…According to many authors [6,26,31], the antioxidant activity of various plant species (fruit or leaves) may be determined by growing conditions, geographical location, climatic conditions, genotype, fruit maturity, or even the collection methods. Many authors have highlighted that fruit rich in significant amounts of phytochemicals are of great interest to potential consumers [6,13].…”

“…Goji leaves contain high amounts of specific flavonoids and phenolic acids, such as chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and rutin. Additionally, goji leaves contain polysaccharides that exert high superoxide and DPPH scavenging abilities, thereby having high antioxidative activity [13]. Information regarding goji leaves, including their chemical composition and bioactive features, is not comprehensive and quite limited.…”

Goji Berry Gall Mite Expansion in Europe, with Emphasis on Southeastern Part of Romania

“…The closely related Lycium barbarum and L. chinense solanaceous species are known in Europe and Romania as Goji or Goji berry and their use increased exponentially in the last decades, being promoted as superfruits and functional foods (Wetters et al, 2018). The Goji has been used for millennia in China and neighboring countries for maintaining good health through traditional medicine and cuisine, and the recent attention in western countries is due to the high amounts of functional components, such as sugars, carotenoids, and essential fatty acids from plants (Yossa Nzeuwa et al, 2019, Chen et al, 2020. According to various authors, the genus Lycium includes globally more than 100 (Hummer et al 2012), 80 (Zeng et al, 2014), or 70 species (Mocan et al, 2014) of deciduous or evergreen woody shrubs, but only three species are considered having high commercial value, L. barbarum, L. chinense and L. ruthenicum.…”

Biochemical characterization of fruits of Lycium spp. in Ukraine

“…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). The nutritional properties of Lycium fruits grown in Ukraine have not been investigated.…”