Goji

Goji, goji berry, or wolfberry Chinese: 枸杞, romanized: gǒuqǐ) is the fruit of either Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense, two closely related species of boxthorn in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The two species are similar, but can be distinguished by differences in taste and sugar content.

Goji berries are primarily cultivated in the Ningxia and Xinjiang autonomous regions of China.

Both species are native to East Asia, and have been long used in traditional East Asian cuisine. In the United States, varieties of the genus, Lycium are given the common names, desert-thorn; Berlandier's wolfberry is used for Lycium berlandieri.

The fruit has also been an ingredient in East Asian traditional medicine, namely traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean medicine since at least the 3rd century AD. In pharmacopeias, the fruit of the plant is called by the Latin name lycii fructus and the leaves are called herba lycii.

Since about 2000, dried goji berries and associated powder and juice products have become common in developed countries as snack foods or supposed alternative medicine remedies, extending from exaggerated and unproven claims about their health benefits.