Le bacche di Goji sono bacche che rafforzano le difese immunitarie?

Chiamato anche Gou Qi Zhi, and Chinese Wolfberry, these yummy small fruits have been getting a lot of attention recently in the CAM press. They’ve a taste that’s somewhere between liqorice and caramel, and I eat them by the handful. Whilst walking around the organic products trade show in london a couple weeks ago there were numerous stalls displaying these small gems. So, I felt compelled to write a little something about them.

TCM

In traditional Chinese medicina, Goji was used to treat infiammazione, skin irritation, nose bleeds, dolore, and a was used as a sedative agent. In western fitoterapia it is used chiefly in treating of eye ailments together with bilberry (vaccinium mertylis). This is mainly because of their high flavanoid content, which functions as a potent antiossidante e rallenta diversi tipi di degenerazione dell'occhio. Inoltre, ci sono attività protettive del fegato attribuite al Lycium.

Si tratta principalmente di una difesa contro gli ossidanti, sempre a causa dei flavanoidi e di un altro rappresentante - il cerebroside. Questo costituente ha dimostrato di bloccare il rilascio della transaminasi glutammico piruvica e della sorbitolo deidrogenasi. Tra i fatti più eccitanti che sono venuti alla luce dalla ricerca sul Goji c'è la sua potenziale inclusione nelle terapie contro il cancro.

Questo è il risultato dell'esistenza di polisaccaridi a catena lunga. Queste sostanze sono note per essere in grado di influenzare notevolmente l'azione della sistema immunitario. The polysaccharides in Goji have been demonstrated to increase the expression of interleukin 2 and TNF-alpha, which are included in orchestrating specific responses as well as the recruitment of certain cells within the immune system that really identify cancerous cells and destroy them. These polysaccharides also have been demonstrated to inhibit the development of leukemia HL-60 cells, and the Human hepatoma QGY7703.

Nota finale

There’s also been a fair amount of attention put on the cholesterol reducing effects of Goji. This is a result of the existence of a constituent called betasitosterol. This substance really helps to prevent the absorption of choleterol from the gut. In light of those findings, and how these berries are such a tasty treat, they will become a valuable tool for professionals of all kinds of terapia. As they are a food they may be easily implemented into a patients treatment program, and I havent met anyone yet that does not amore them. If you havent had the pleasure of tasting these superfoods, you dont know what you’re missing!