Italian Lycium barbarum L. Berry: Chemical Characterization and Nutraceutical Value

Lycium barbarum L. has received considerable attention in recent years also in western countries because of the interesting healthy value of these berries. In this paper, goji samples cultivated in Southern Italy were analyzed for their chemical composition and nutritional profile in order to characterize fruits of Italian origin and to increase the awareness about their nutraceutical value. Lipid fraction was characterized by high percentages of unsaturated fatty acids, in particular oleic and linoleic acids, and very low values of atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes (0.1 and 0.2, respectively). In addition, goji berry was an interesting source of phytosterols (41.5 mg/100 g), essentially represented by β-sitosterol. Carotenoid analysis showed the presence of zeaxanthin, in esterified form, with high content of zeaxanthin dipalmitate (277.9 mg/100 g). Finally, in vitro antioxidant capacity and phenolic compounds were investigated. The results suggested that goji hydro-alcoholic extract possessed the ability to scavenge free radicals. Phenolic acids were clearly the most abundant compounds followed by flavonols and favanols. The results reported in this study confirm that Italian L. barbarum berry is a rich source of bioactive molecules with nutraceutical properties.