What’s your ZU-B?

Published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial claims to be the first study reported from outside China that has examined the general effects of consuming goji/wolfberry juice.

According to the study’s findings, people consuming the juice for 14 days reported increased ratings of energy levels, quality of sleep, mental acuity, calmness, and feelings contentment, as well as improved regularity of gastrointestinal functions.

Goji/wolfberry, or lyceum barbarum, has been used in Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan for over 2500 years, where it is thought to have health benefits including anti-aging, vision, kidney and liver function.
Methodology

A total of 35 people were recruited for the study.  All participants were healthy adults, and were randomly assigned to either a goji berry group or a placebo group.

Participants were given a ‘wash-out’ period of two weeks, during which they did not consume any products containing goji berries, or any dietary supplements, energy drinks or green tea.

They then consumed either a placebo product or 120 mL of FreeLife’s GoChi juice product each morning after a meal for 14 days. 

The dosage of the goji/wolfberry juice was equivalent to 150g of fresh fruit, the amount customarily used in traditional Chinese medicine. The placebo product was said to have the same colour and taste as the goji/wolfberry juice, but it had no nutritional value.

Participants were given a questionnaire at the start and finish of the test period, where they were asked to give ratings (0-5) of general feelings of well-being, neurologic/psychologic traits, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular complaints as well as any adverse effects.

Rusults

According to the study authors, “significant differences” between day one and day 15 were found in the goji/wolfberry group.

Respondants reported “significantly increased” athletic performance, quality of sleep (80 percent reported better sleep), focus on activities and calmness.  Around 50-60 percent of people in the goji group reported feelings of good health, contentment, and happiness.

Some 50 percent reported less fatigue, more energy during the day, and increased athletic performance. 

Additional verbally reported effects on the goji/wolfberry group included a decrease in menstrual pains for some women, an increase in sexual activity and performance, improved skin and harder nails.

The placebo group reported two statistically significant changes during the 14-day period - heartburn and feelings of happiness.

According to the authors, the results “clearly indicate” the reported benefits of consuming goji/wolfberry juice.  The authors suggest that further research is needed to confirm and extend knowledge of the berry’s health benefits.

Source:
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

The small study with 14 healthy adults found that the benefits of the beverage was not related to the caffeine, indicating the possible role of green tea polyphenols, previously linked to protection against certain kinds of cancers and Alzheimer’s.

The study is published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

“These findings have important clinical implications,” said study co-author Charalambos Vlachopoulos from Athens Medical School in Greece. “Tea consumption has been associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in several studies. Green tea is consumed less in the Western world than black tea, but it could be more beneficial because of the way it seems to improve endothelial function.

“In this same context, recent studies have also shown potent anticarcinogenic effects of green tea, attributed to its antioxidant properties,” added Dr Vlachopoulos.

Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea.

The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC).

Study details

The Greek researchers randomly assigned the volunteers (average age 30) to one of three groups. The first receive six grams of green tea, the second received 125 mg of caffeine (equivalent to the caffeine dose from six grams of tea), and the third group received hot water.

The volunteers consumed each of the interventions on three separate occasions, and the effects on flow-mediated dilation (FMD), the measure of a blood vessel’s healthy ability to relax, measured 30, 90 and 120 minutes after consumption.

Green tea increased FMD by 3.9 per cent 30 minutes after consumption, while no changes in FMD were observed following consumption of caffeine or the hot water placebo.

“Green tea consumption has an acute beneficial effect on endothelial function, assessed with FMD of the brachial artery, in healthy individuals,” wrote the researchers.

“This may be involved in the beneficial effect of tea on cardiovascular risk,” they concluded.

Source: European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation

The activity of cyclooxygenase enzymes associated with inflammation, COX-1 and COX-2, was inhibited in animals fed a polyphenol-rich extract of pomegranate fruit, according to results published in the open-access Journal of Inflammation.

If the study can be repeated in humans it offers promise for preventing chronic inflammation, brought about by an over-expression or lack of control of the normal protective mechanism. Chronic inflammation has been linked to range of conditions linked to heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, type-2 diabetes, and arthritis.

It is in terms of arthritis that the researchers focus their study, and indicate that pomegranate extracts could provide an alternative to use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially in light of mounting concerns about the adverse effects of NSAID use. 

Some of these drugs, which are among the most frequently prescribed medications worldwide, have been linked with gastrointestinal toxicity, increased blood pressure, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Consumption of pomegranate fruit extract may be of value in inhibiting inflammatory stimuli-induced cartilage breakdown and production of inflammatory mediators in arthritis,” wrote the researchers, led by Tariq Haqqi from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Pomegranate, a rich source of antioxidants, has been linked to improved heart health, but a growing body of science indicates the fruit protect against prostate cancer. Studies have also reported a role in joint health by slowing cartilage loss in arthritis.

It is these antioxidants, and particularly ellagitannin compounds like punicalagins and punicalins, which accounts for about half of the fruit’s antioxidant ability, that are reportedly behind the proposed health benefits.

Study details

Haqqi and co-workers fed four rabbits the pomegranate extract, equivalent of 175 ml of pomegranate juice, while two rabbits given water instead acted as the controls. Blood samples were taken to measure inflammatory biomarkers and antioxidant levels.

The data showed that blood antioxidant levels were significantly higher after ingestion of the pomegranate extract, indicating the bioavailability of the antioxidants.

Moreover, COX-1 and COX-2 activity was significantly reduced in the pomegranate-fed animals, compared to control, particularly for COX-2. Indeed, COX-1 activity was reduced by about seven per cent following ingestion of the extract, while COX-2 activity decreased by about 26 per cent.

“Although direct inhibitory effect of plant extracts or components on COX enzyme activity have been reported by several investigators, inhibition of COX enzyme activity by polyphenols that become bioavailable after consumption of pomegranate fruit or extract has not been reported,” wrote the researchers.

While the results are promising for pomegranates, the researchers rightfully stated that additional animal studies are required, “followed by controlled clinical trials.”