Black Goji Berry in the Eye of Public Opinion: It Must Be Viewed Calmly
Reading Note
In recent times, news of people scrambling to pick black goji berries has appeared in the media from time to time. For a while, this wild fruit that was originally obscure was pushed into the eye of public opinion. What are the real effects of black goji berries, what are their cultivation characteristics, and how great is their value for promotion? Through interviews with relevant authoritative experts, this reporter explains them one by one for you.
Where exactly is it “precious”?
——Rich in anthocyanins; other components differ little from red goji berries
At present, the price of dried black goji berries on the market varies, from several hundred to several thousand per jin, and some even tens of thousands. The publicity about the effects of black goji berries is even more varied: some say they can fight cancer; some say they can prevent and treat high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and diabetes; some say they can delay aging, and give them the laudatory name “soft gold.” Are they really so miraculous?
⟦NL> Professor Ma Shizhen of the Research Center for Characteristic Biological Resources at the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told reporters that compared with red goji berries, the biggest advantage of black goji berries is their high anthocyanin content. According to measurements, the anthocyanin content of fresh black goji berries can reach about 4% at most. Apart from that, components such as polysaccharides, amino acids, and vitamins do not differ much from those of red goji berries.
According to the reporter's understanding, the most notable effect of anthocyanins is mainly antioxidant activity, scavenging free radicals in the human body. Free radicals are harmful compounds produced in the body's oxidation reactions, have strong oxidizing properties, can damage the body's tissues and cells, and then cause chronic diseases and aging effects.
Ma Shizhen said: “Theoretically, anthocyanins can scavenge free radicals and thereby delay the apoptosis of human cells. But their properties are also very unstable, and they will decompose when exposed to light, heat, or acid. Moreover, due to individual differences, how much of the ingested anthocyanins the human body can absorb and in what form they are absorbed by the human body are still not conclusively determined in current research. As for claims that they fight cancer and prevent and treat certain diseases, there is currently no scientific basis for them.”
As to whether black goji berries have effects on the human body and how great they are, Qin Ken, associate researcher at the National Goji Engineering Technology Research Center, believes that black goji berries indeed have certain effects on the human body, but at present their effects lack verification by the traditional Chinese medicine system and also lack support from basic theoretical data of modern medicine, so they should not be exaggerated excessively.
The true effects and food-medicinal value of black goji berries still need to be tested by science and time. In reality, black goji berries are in a rather awkward position. The state has already included red goji berries as both food and medicine, but black goji berries belong neither to food nor to medicine, and relevant standards have not been established. As for their medicinal value, researcher Zhang Cun of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said that whether black goji berries have anti-cancer and cosmetic effects, and how effective they are, should be viewed and considered rationally and scientifically, avoiding blindly following trends and false publicity. For black goji berries to enter the field of traditional Chinese medicine, first, a large amount of basic research data and experimental conclusions on safety and effectiveness are needed as support; second, they must go through strict technical review and approval by drug regulatory authorities in accordance with the law; in addition, while developing and utilizing them, attention should be paid to protecting their wild resources and ecological environment.
Can they be artificially cultivated?
——The artificial cultivation technology system has basically taken shape, and variety breeding still needs research and development
Black goji berries sold on the market nowadays are mostly labeled as wild black goji berries, so can black goji berries be artificially cultivated? If they can be artificially cultivated, what technical conditions are needed, and is there any difference between the produced fruit and wild fruit?
In fact, as early as 2002, researchers in Qinghai, Gansu, and other places began the artificial domestication, purification, and promotion of wild black goji berries. After years of effort, artificial cultivation of black goji berries has succeeded, and planting began to be promoted in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and other places. In the Haixi area of Qinghai, the area of artificially planted black goji berries has reached 27,300 mu, and about 5,000 mu have already borne fruit.
The reporter's investigation found that in previous years, black goji berries were also artificially planted, but this involved transplanting wild black goji berry trees into fields for planting. However, the survival rate this way was very low, only about 10%. At present, artificial cultivation of black goji berries mainly uses two methods: one is to use cutting technology and achieve artificial cultivation through asexual reproduction; the other is to obtain seeds from wild or artificially planted black goji berry fruit by washing them with water, and then use the seeds for seedling cultivation.
Wang Zhanlin, researcher at the Forestry Institute of the Qinghai Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, told reporters that the technology for artificial cultivation of Qinghai black goji berries from seedling cultivation to planting has basically taken shape. Among this, the seedling standards have passed review by the Provincial Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, and the technical system for the cultivation stage has also basically taken shape. These technical conditions can already meet the needs of artificial cultivation of black goji berries. Three-year-old black goji berries yield 30-50 jin of dried fruit per mu, and four-year-old ones can reach 100 jin.