07/06/2006 - A little-known juice from the Himalayas has crashed its way onto the radar, after health authorities in New Zealand began investigating its producers for making extravagant health claims.

Health officials opened a probe against goji juice makers after adverts claimed that Goji juice drink could cure several diseases, including cancer, according to a report on TVNZ. Such a claim is illegal for food products in New Zealand.

The inquiry thrusts goji juice, made from red goji berries native to the Himalayas, into the spotlight, as its supporters continue to push it across several countries.

Goji berries, known as wolfberries in the UK, were used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various minor ailments. The most common type of goji berry used today is called lycium barbarum.

Consumer health trends have caused interest in goji berries to grow over the last few years, mainly because of claims that they contain more antioxidants, such as vitamin C, than many other foods.

Studies have linked antioxidants to a number of health benefits, including lower risk of cancer.

There is already much varied anecdotal evidence for the ‘miracle' qualities of goji juice.

These range from people saying it simply made them feel younger and healthier, to one person claiming it turned their grey hair back to its original colour. Another claimed goji juice had cured her dog's ear infection.

A product can only survive on such stories for so long, however, and health authorities would certainly not entertain them without backing from serious scientific evidence.

As far as cancer goes, Goji critics point out that there has only ever been one clinical study done on the effects of goji juice on cancer patients, published in the Chinese Journal of Oncology in the 1990s.

That study, which involved 79 cancer patients, suggested goji may indeed help. A couple of other studies done in laboratories have also pointed this way.

Dr Ralph Moss, who wrote a review of goji juice, called the Chinese clinical study “intriguing”, but added: “By comparison, something as simple as green tea looks to have an equal or even better effect at about one-hundredth of the cost.”

Anna Denny, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, told BeverageDaily.com there were similar disputes with other niche products, such as Brazilian açai berries – also claiming a high antioxidant content and recently made available in Europe by Fruits of the Amazon and UK distributor JO Sims.

“One of the problems with these products is that nutritional information is notoriously hard to get hold of, mainly because it's a very new food,” said Denny, who has received consumer enquiries over açai berries, but none for goji.

She added that such products were not always worth the money. “Actually, there's plenty of other fruit and vegetables out there that are more easily available and probably have just as much benefit.”

The latest goji juice launch recorded by Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD) was a powdered drink called GojiSplash, introduced in Canada this May.

The drink, sold by Garden Greens, says it is “rich in active polysaccharides and antioxidants claimed to help support youth and vitality by balancing and supporting the immune system”.

It was priced at €16.8 for a 900ml bottle. Goji juice drinks were also available in other countries, including the UK and US.

  Amazing Stem Cell Research Breakthrough |   What is the most powerful antioxidant?