A deciduous shrub (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) of western North America, having white berries and pinkish bell-shaped flowers.

 

Renowned in Asia as one of nature's most nutrient-rich natural foods, wolfberries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for nearly 2,000 years. Their undocumented legend, however, is considerably older as wolfberries are often linked in Chinese lore to Shen Nung (Shennong), China's legendary First Emperor, mythical father of agriculture, and herbalist who lived circa 2800 BC.

Currently in the United States, other first-world countries, and the global functional food industry, there is a rapidly growing recognition of wolfberries for their nutrient richness and antioxidant qualities
 

Wolfberries, and Lycium root bark photo have long played important roles in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), where they are believed to enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect the liver, boost sperm production, and improve circulation, among other effects. In TCM terms, wolfberries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature; they act on the liver, lung, and kidney channels and enrich yin. They can be eaten raw, consumed as juice or wine, brewed into a tea,photophoto or prepared as a tincture. The berries are also used in traditional Korean medicine, traditional Japanese medicine, and traditional Tibetan medicine.

An early mention of wolfberry occurs in the 7th century Tang Dynasty treatise Yaoxing Lun. It is also discussed in the 16th century Ming Dynasty Compendium of Materia Medica of Li Shizhen.

A human supplementation trial showed that a daily intake of wolfberries increased plasma zeaxanthin levels.

Wolfberry fruits are reported to contain a number of so-called "polysaccharides" which allegedly show antioxidant activity or having a protective effect against oxidative damage The structure of such "polysaccharides" is far from being elucidated, but from the few structural studies available it would appear that such compounds are actually mixtures of complex glycoconjugates.

Several published studies, mostly from China, have reported possible medicinal benefits of Lycium barbarum, especially due to its antioxidant properties, including potential benefits against cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, vision-related diseases (such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma), having neuroprotective properties or as an anticancer and immunomodulatory agent.