I dare you to type this word into your search window. The word is lycium barbarum. This is the scientific name for the Goji Fruit.
When you search that word, you find endless amounts of articles, studies, opinions, and other information about the Goji Fruit. You will be there for hours reading all that has been published about this wonderful fruit.
I would like to help you a bit so I am going to give you a few that I read and found very helpful.
****FreeLife does not support or endorse nor has FreeLife written any of the following resources
This excerpt was taken from an article called LYCIUM FRUIT by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
"In the U.S., lycium fruit is already better known as an ingredient of the juice product called Himalayan Goji Juice (goji is another transliteration of gouqi), than as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions or food therapy. The product was developed by Earl Mindell, who is best known for his book “Vitamin Bible” (which now has a 25th Anniversary revised edition). He learned of lycium fruit from a Chinese herbal specialist in 1995, and introduced a juice product in 2003, which is made from the reconstituted extracts of four fruits: lycium, grape, apple, and pear (with pear puree added). It is provided in bottles of 33 fluid ounces (1 liter), with recommended use of 2–4 ounces per day, so one bottle is about an 8–16 day supply. Very quickly, a number of other companies have imitated this popular product, and some have gone on to make other formulations featuring lycium fruit as a primary or secondary ingredient.
Comparing this juice to the lycium fruit described in traditional Chinese medicine is somewhat difficult. The manufacturer indicates: “One liter of Himalayan Goji Juice contains the polysaccharides equivalent of 2.2 pounds [1 kg] of fresh goji berries.” Typically, a dried berry is about one-sixth the weight of a fresh berry (that is, the moisture content of the fresh fruit is about 83%), so a dose of 2–4 ounces of the juice would correspond to 10–20 grams of the dried fruit, which is in the correct dosage range in accordance with traditional recommendations, though higher doses have been used in some applications. Dried lycium fruit can be eaten whole (sold most in one pound bags, about 23–46 doses of 10–20 grams), and can be obtained at a lower cost because it is in crude form. The makers of this juice, and other similar products, proclaim unique benefits to the juice, mainly because of specific selection of berries, compared to the dried lycium fruits readily available from Chinese herb and grocery stores. The juice is a convenient form of administration and also provides other juices (that yield a more acceptable flavor), so the extra expense may be considered worthwhile, while there is little evidence that would support a contention of differing therapeutic effect if similar amounts of the lycium fruit are obtained from drinking the juice or from eating the dried fruits or taking supplements made from lycium extracts. "
You may read the entire article at http://www.itmonline.org/arts/lycium.htm
I also found this site to be very helpful although the information is quite exstensive. You may want to skim through and highlight essentials. I liked what this Doctor had to say at the end about his personal use of Goji Juice and Goji Berries.
http://gogogojiteam.com/
