Zijn Goji bessen immuunsysteem versterkende bessen?

Also called Gou Qi Zhi, and Chinese Wolfberry, these yummy small vruchten have been getting a lot of attentie 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 medicine, Goji was used to treat ontsteking, skin irritation, nose bleeds, pijn, and a was used as a sedative agent. In western kruidengeneeskunde Samen met bosbes (vaccinium mertylis) wordt het vooral gebruikt bij de behandeling van oogaandoeningen. Dit komt vooral door hun hoge gehalte aan flavonoïden, die als krachtige antioxidant fungeren en verschillende vormen van oogdegeneratie vertragen. Bovendien worden aan Lycium leverbeschermende activiteiten toegeschreven.

Dit is hoofdzakelijk een verdediging tegen oxidanten, opnieuw dankzij de flavanoïden en een andere vertegenwoordiger - cerebroside. Van dit bestanddeel is aangetoond dat het de afgifte van glutamine pyrodruiven transaminase en sorbitol dehydrogenase blokkeert. Een van de meest opwindende feiten die uit het onderzoek naar Goji naar voren zijn gekomen, is de mogelijke opneming ervan in kanker therapieën.

This is a result of the existence of long chain polysaccahrides. These substances have been known as something which will greatly influence the action of the immune system. 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 leukemie HL-60 cells, and the Human hepatoma QGY7703.

Slotopmerking

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 therapy. As they are a food they may be easily implemented into a patients treatment program, and I havent met anyone yet that does not love them. If you havent had the pleasure of tasting these superfoods, you dont know what you’re missing!