Herb library · Herb · Lycium barbarum, L. chinense
Goji (Wolfberry)
A small red berry from Chinese medicine and cooking, eaten dried, as juice or as a tea. A few small trials in people exist, and it can strengthen the effect of the blood thinner warfarin.
Traditional use
A common shrub of northern and western China whose fruits, leaves and root bark all have uses in Chinese medicine, where the plant was considered a tonic said to prolong life, improve the complexion and brighten the eye. It is traditionally drunk as a tea, and in recent years the dried berries and juice have been sold widely in Western countries.
Traditional energetics
Chinese materia medica
Temperature: cool. Chinese Materia Medica: Vegetable Kingdom (1911), p. 250 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Eye health: in a randomized pilot trial of 27 healthy adults aged 45 to 65, eating 28 grams of goji berries five times a week for 90 days raised macular pigment density, a marker linked to age-related macular degeneration. The trial was small and not blinded, and it measured a marker, not vision or disease.
- Limited
Liver enzymes: in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 90 adults with mildly raised liver enzymes, an extract of Lycium chinense fruit for 12 weeks lowered the liver enzymes ALT and GGT more than placebo did; the differences were just past the threshold for statistical significance.
- Limited
Cholesterol: in a 16-week randomized trial of 41 middle-aged and older adults on a healthy diet, those who also ate 15 grams of wolfberry a day had higher HDL ("good") cholesterol; no difference in cardiovascular risk between the groups was detected.
Be careful of
Cautions
- InteractionDo not combine it with warfarin without your clinician. Published case reports describe people on warfarin whose INR rose sharply after a few days of goji tea or juice; one woman was hospitalized with bleeding.
- AllergyGoji can cause allergy. In a study of 566 people with allergy symptoms, about 6% reacted to goji on skin testing, often along with peach, tomato and nuts; anaphylaxis after eating the berries has been reported.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician first.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“The general action of the plant is considered to be tonic, cooling, constructive, prolonging life, improving the complexion, and brightening the eye.”
Sources
- Goji Berry Intake Increases Macular Pigment Optical Density in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Pilot Trial (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Lycium chinense Miller fruit extract lowers liver enzyme levels in subjects with mild hepatic dysfunction: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effects of wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) consumption on the human plasma lipidome and its association with cardiovascular disease risk factors: a randomized controlled trial of middle-aged and older adults (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Possible interaction between warfarin and Lycium barbarum L. (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Probable interaction between Lycium barbarum (goji) and warfarin (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Recently introduced foods as new allergenic sources: sensitisation to Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Anaphylaxis associated with the ingestion of Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.