Current findings and future prospective of high-value trans Himalayan medicinal plant Lycium ruthenicum Murr: a systematic review

Background The genus Lycium is commercially known for its nutrient dense goji-berries, among these berries, black goji-berries obtained from Lycium ruthenicum Murr are highly valued and widely used as traditional medicine in trans-himalayan cold desert Ladakh and as functional food in several countries. Methods The current collection of data and literature was done by exploring different scientific portals like SciFinder, Google scholar, PubMed, Dictonary of Natural Products, Institute for Scientific Information, Web of Science and Scopus by searching keywords like black goji berry, crystal pearl, and trans-Himalayan plant. Results Fruits of L. ruthenicum Murr, are overwhelmingly enriched in anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, polysaccharides, spermine and spermidine alkaloids. The presence of these bioactive phyto-chemicals has been linked with reported anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fatigue, anti-atherosclerosis and neuro-protective properties of black goji berries. A unique color of these berries makes them exceptional as compared to other berries. Conclusions In this article, we have reviewed the variety of high value phytochemicals of Lycium ruthenicum Murr, with a special focus on health promoting anthocyanins which will provide an insight to the readers for exploring novel applications of L. ruthenicum Murr in field of medicine and food industries.

In Situ Stability of Anthocyanins in Lycium ruthenicum Murray

In this research, the effects of drying method, storage temperature, and color protector glucose on anthocyanin preservation in the Lycium ruthenicum Murr. fruit were studied. Compared with hot-air drying, vacuum freeze-drying preserved about 5.8-fold more anthocyanins. The half-life of anthocyanins in the freeze-dried fruit samples with glucose was 3.6 days, 1.8 days, and 1.7 days at 4 °C, 20 °C, and 37 °C, respectively. On the other hand, the half-life values without glucose addition were 2.2 days, 2.3 days, and 2.1 days at each temperature, respectively, indicating that glucose protected anthocyanins at low temperature. The composition and contents of anthocyanins and anthocyanidins in the freeze-dried Lycium ruthenicum Murr., stored for 20 days, were investigated with a HPLC-MS/MS setup. It was found that most anthocyanidins in Lycium ruthenicum Murr. are linked with coumaroyl glucose to form anthocyanins, while glycosylated and acetyl-glycosylated anthocyanins were also detected. Five anthocyanidins were detected: delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, malvidin, and peonidin, and delphinidin accounts for about half of the total amount of anthocyanidins. It is much more economic to conserve anthocyanins in situ with freeze-drying methods and to store the fruits at low temperatures with glucose.

Features of seed growth and development of sproutings of the russian dereza (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.) under laboratory conditions and in culture in vitro

Russian dereza (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.) is a shrub plant that spreads on the territory of the dried Aral Sea in conditions of high soil salinity, dry and sharply continental climate. The fruits were collected and the features of germination of seeds of the russian dereza halophyte (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.) Under sterile and non-sterile conditions were studied. The optimal temperature and illumination regime for the germination of annual seeds of this species is a 16-hour photoperiod and a temperature of 25 °C, the germination of seeds in nonsterile conditions was: 4-year-old – 46 %; 2-year – 83; one-year – 96 %. It has been shown that L. ruthenicum plants remain viable for up to 4 years or more, on this basis, we attributed the seeds of this species to truly orthodox. When introduced into culture in vitro, it has been shown that multi-stage sterilization significantly reduces the viability of seeds and seedlings of Lycium ruthenicum Murr., which leads to a decrease in seed germination by up to 40 %. The optimal nutrient medium for the stable development of microshoots without anomalies, callus formation and initiation of root formation was MS with the addition of 1.0 mg/l 6-BAP to the nutrient medium, without sucrose. Maintaining the samples in the in vitro collection is carried out on a half-MS medium without hormones, without sucrose at a low positive temperature of 4 °C, illumination of ~500 lx and a photoperiod of 8 hours. The samples of L. ruthenicum in vitro can be used to develop methods of clonal micropropagation; for genotyping of samples and identification of molecular biomarkers of plant resistance to soil salinity; in the ex vitro morpho-biological study of plants resistant to salt stress.

Synthesis of a new Ag+-decorated Prussian blue analog with high peroxidase-like activity and its application in measuring the content of the antioxidant substances in Lycium ruthenicum Murr.

An Ag+-decorated Prussian blue analog (Ag-PBA) was synthesized and used to measure the content of antioxidant substances in Lycium ruthenicum Murr.

Goji berry (Lycium spp.) extracts exhibit antiproliferative activity via modulating cell cycle arrest, cell apoptosis, and p53 signaling pathway

The phytochemical profiles, antioxidant activity and antiproliferative mechanism of two goji berry varieties were investigated in the present study. In contrast with Lycium barbarum L. (LB), Lycium ruthenicum Murr. (LRM)...