Why Does Goji Berry "Strengthen Vitality and Build Body"?
Journalist Jiang Ming reported on July 29 from the School of Public Health at Wuhan University that Professor Luo Qiong led a study showing that the main active component of wolfberry (Goji berry), Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), protects damaged reproductive systems by acting on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. This research was a key project funded by the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Department.
The experiment revealed that in the positive control group, testicular tissue showed significantly reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and markedly increased malondialdehyde (MDA); conversely, in the experimental group, SOD levels rose significantly while MDA levels dropped markedly. Under microscopy, the experimental group displayed intact seminiferous tubule membranes, regular shapes, orderly arrangement of germ cells at all stages, clearly visible nucleoli in spermatogonia, increased numbers of primary spermatocytes and spermatids, intact nuclear membranes in spermatocytes, normal tadpole-like sperm morphology, clustered and increased interstitial cells, abundant blood vessels, and structures close to those of the normal control group. In contrast, the positive control group showed marked reduction in germ cells, disappearance of spermatids and sperm, chromatin condensation and shrinkage within spermatocytes, unclear nuclear membranes, and severely sparse nuclear material. The results demonstrated a significant difference between the experimental and positive control groups.
Professor Luo explained that the increased SOD activity and decreased MDA levels in the experimental group’s testicular tissue indicate that LBP promotes pituitary secretion of gonadotropins, exerting multi-level regulation on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis. This prevents the significant decline in SOD and rise in MDA caused by heat stress, thereby correcting functional disturbances in the axis induced by thermal stress, ensuring smooth spermatogenesis and normal development of testicular germ cells.