Antioxidant and Mitochondrial Health Benefits of Wolfberries
Nutrient analysis of Lycium barbarum, variety Phoenix Tears, has verified the antioxidant and mitochondrial potential health benefits of wolfberry fruit and leaves. Phoenix Tears Nursery received two Utah Food and Agriculture specialty crop grants. Funding from these grants made possible the documentation of high fruit and leaf nutrients.
Aging can, in large part, contribute to free radical attack on body cells. Reactive oxygen species or free radical oxygen molecules cause damage to DNA, mitochondria, and cell membranes. Antioxidants can play a major role in blunting these effects.
Emphasis in this article is on wolfberry nutrients contributing to antioxidant potential and to anti-aging factors. One measure of antioxidant potential is ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity). On the ORAC scale, blueberries test at about 30, pomegranate at about 100, and dried wolfberries at about 300. Dried Phoenix Tears leaves tested in the fall of 2009 had an ORAC score of 456 and in the spring of 2010 had a score of 522. Both values indicating an unmatched ability to absorb injurious free radicals that attack the body. Both the dried fruit and leaves clearly qualify as powerful antioxidants.
Phenolics are another nutrient found in wolfberries. Phenolics also can function as antioxidants. Among common fruit, the highest amount of phenolics are found in plums and cherries (28 mg/g). Phoenix Tears dried leaves had a phenolic content of 30.5 mg/g, comparable to green tea, but without caffeine.
Phoenix Tears dried fruit tested in 2009 had an ellagic acid content of 11.92 mcg/g. This cancer de-activator is a phenolic compound with anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties and may explain why certain whole foods have better health benefits than isolated nutrients extracted from them.
Phoenix Tears fruit and leaves are rich sources of carotenoids. Both fruit and leaves are rich in both alpha and beta carotene, having about eight times that found in spinach. Lutein and zexanthin values are similarly far higher than found in spinach. Lycopene in dried Phoenix Tears leaves was double that of Ketchup, with no high fructose corn syrup. One can infer from studies that show the benefits of carotenoids from other plants, that wolfberry carotenoids likewise would benefit the eyes, immune system, cell function and antioxidant roles.
Another very interesting Phoenix Tears nutrient is catechin. Catechins are water soluble and are best known for their benefits in green tea. Catechin is made up of seven subgroups, all of which are powerful antioxidants. Studies also show that catechins influence the break down of fats and the production of inflammatory materials that trigger hunger. Phoenix Tears dried leaves contain all seven subgroups of catechins.
Dried leaves tested in 2009 had a betaine content of 19.38 mg/g. This value is higher than found in wheat bran and wheat germ, two food sources listed as having high betaine content. Betaine is an important human nutrient that is rapidly absorbed and utilized to help to maintain liver, heart, and kidney health. Betaine can reduce elevated homocysteine concentrations.
Vitamins C and E round out the team of antioxidant nutrients found in wolfberry fruit and leaves. Wolfberries also contain various forms of vitamin E. The mix of nutrient E in both fruit and leaves may be superior to many vegetables that have only one type of vitamin E present. Alpha tocotrienol, alpha tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, and beta tocopherol are all present.
The ultimate anti-aging agent in wolfberry fruit is PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone). Wolfberries, (Lycium barbarum), have a centuries long reputation as an anti-aging food source. PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone), found in Phoenix Tears wolfberries, far exceeds any other known natural source of this nutrient.
Scientists have identified mitochondrial dysfunction as a key factor in aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction and death are now clearly linked in the development of all killer diseases associated with aging. Recent research has documented that mitochondrial dysfunction can be reversed. PQQ not only protects mitochondria from oxidation damage, it also stimulates growth of new mitochondria. The number of mitochondria in body cells, including the brain, decrease with age. Scientists now believe that mitochondria number and function determine longevity. PQQ has emerged as the nutrient that can safely trigger mitochondria biogenesis.
Part of PQQ’s role as an antioxidant is related to its capacity to participate in repeated reactions before breaking down. For example, vitamin C can survive 4 catalitic redox cycles, catachin 75, quercetin 800, and PQQ 20,000. Thus, as a free radical scavenger, PQQ is unexcelled.
A healthy diet can contribute small amounts of PQQ, with natto (fermented soybeans), green tea, green peppers and parsley as examples of foods with some PQQ. Research at present has not identified how much PQQ is needed to influence mitochondrial health. Nutrient analysis of Phoenix Tears wolfberries revealed a PQQ content of 17.9 mcg/g. When compared to natto, with a value of 61 ng/g, Phoenix Tears wolfberries have 17,900 ng/g of PQQ. A three ounce serving of Phoenix Tears wolfberries far exceeds the documented amount of PQQ needed for normal cell health and probably contributes to its reputation as an anti-aging food.
PQQ is becoming available as a supplement. PQQ levels in Phoenix Tears wolfberries are comparable to some supplements with the berries also containing a rich whole food source of many other nutrients. The amount of PQQ available in Phoenix Tears wolfberries is sufficient to increase the functionality of existing mitochondria and also promote the generation of new mitochondria inside aging cells.
Aging can, in large part, contribute to free radical attack on body cells. Reactive oxygen species or free radical oxygen molecules cause damage to DNA, mitochondria, and cell membranes. Antioxidants can play a major role in blunting these effects.
Emphasis in this article is on wolfberry nutrients contributing to antioxidant potential and to anti-aging factors. One measure of antioxidant potential is ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity). On the ORAC scale, blueberries test at about 30, pomegranate at about 100, and dried wolfberries at about 300. Dried Phoenix Tears leaves tested in the fall of 2009 had an ORAC score of 456 and in the spring of 2010 had a score of 522. Both values indicating an unmatched ability to absorb injurious free radicals that attack the body. Both the dried fruit and leaves clearly qualify as powerful antioxidants.
Phenolics are another nutrient found in wolfberries. Phenolics also can function as antioxidants. Among common fruit, the highest amount of phenolics are found in plums and cherries (28 mg/g). Phoenix Tears dried leaves had a phenolic content of 30.5 mg/g, comparable to green tea, but without caffeine.
Phoenix Tears dried fruit tested in 2009 had an ellagic acid content of 11.92 mcg/g. This cancer de-activator is a phenolic compound with anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties and may explain why certain whole foods have better health benefits than isolated nutrients extracted from them.
Phoenix Tears fruit and leaves are rich sources of carotenoids. Both fruit and leaves are rich in both alpha and beta carotene, having about eight times that found in spinach. Lutein and zexanthin values are similarly far higher than found in spinach. Lycopene in dried Phoenix Tears leaves was double that of Ketchup, with no high fructose corn syrup. One can infer from studies that show the benefits of carotenoids from other plants, that wolfberry carotenoids likewise would benefit the eyes, immune system, cell function and antioxidant roles.
Another very interesting Phoenix Tears nutrient is catechin. Catechins are water soluble and are best known for their benefits in green tea. Catechin is made up of seven subgroups, all of which are powerful antioxidants. Studies also show that catechins influence the break down of fats and the production of inflammatory materials that trigger hunger. Phoenix Tears dried leaves contain all seven subgroups of catechins.
Dried leaves tested in 2009 had a betaine content of 19.38 mg/g. This value is higher than found in wheat bran and wheat germ, two food sources listed as having high betaine content. Betaine is an important human nutrient that is rapidly absorbed and utilized to help to maintain liver, heart, and kidney health. Betaine can reduce elevated homocysteine concentrations.
Vitamins C and E round out the team of antioxidant nutrients found in wolfberry fruit and leaves. Wolfberries also contain various forms of vitamin E. The mix of nutrient E in both fruit and leaves may be superior to many vegetables that have only one type of vitamin E present. Alpha tocotrienol, alpha tocopherol, gamma tocopherol, and beta tocopherol are all present.
The ultimate anti-aging agent in wolfberry fruit is PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone). Wolfberries, (Lycium barbarum), have a centuries long reputation as an anti-aging food source. PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone), found in Phoenix Tears wolfberries, far exceeds any other known natural source of this nutrient.
Scientists have identified mitochondrial dysfunction as a key factor in aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction and death are now clearly linked in the development of all killer diseases associated with aging. Recent research has documented that mitochondrial dysfunction can be reversed. PQQ not only protects mitochondria from oxidation damage, it also stimulates growth of new mitochondria. The number of mitochondria in body cells, including the brain, decrease with age. Scientists now believe that mitochondria number and function determine longevity. PQQ has emerged as the nutrient that can safely trigger mitochondria biogenesis.
Part of PQQ’s role as an antioxidant is related to its capacity to participate in repeated reactions before breaking down. For example, vitamin C can survive 4 catalitic redox cycles, catachin 75, quercetin 800, and PQQ 20,000. Thus, as a free radical scavenger, PQQ is unexcelled.
A healthy diet can contribute small amounts of PQQ, with natto (fermented soybeans), green tea, green peppers and parsley as examples of foods with some PQQ. Research at present has not identified how much PQQ is needed to influence mitochondrial health. Nutrient analysis of Phoenix Tears wolfberries revealed a PQQ content of 17.9 mcg/g. When compared to natto, with a value of 61 ng/g, Phoenix Tears wolfberries have 17,900 ng/g of PQQ. A three ounce serving of Phoenix Tears wolfberries far exceeds the documented amount of PQQ needed for normal cell health and probably contributes to its reputation as an anti-aging food.
PQQ is becoming available as a supplement. PQQ levels in Phoenix Tears wolfberries are comparable to some supplements with the berries also containing a rich whole food source of many other nutrients. The amount of PQQ available in Phoenix Tears wolfberries is sufficient to increase the functionality of existing mitochondria and also promote the generation of new mitochondria inside aging cells.
