| The plants of the genus Lycium (Solanaceae) are of high economic value, particularly in medicine. They have been medically used for more than 2,000 years in China. Among the various plant organs, the dried mature fruits of Lycium barbarum L., viz. Fructus Lycii, also known as Gouqizi in Chinese and the root bark of Lycium chinense Mill., i.e. Cortex Lycii Radicis, also called Digupi in Chinese are both commonly prescribed Chinese medicinal herbs. In the present dissertation, pharmacognosy of Lycium has been focused in an attempt to provide further information on the development and utilization of these interesting plants.; Firstly, three major species of Lycium, such as L. barbarum L., L. chinense Mill., and L. europeaum L., were ethnopharmacologically summarized in order to provide thorough information for their future research development.; Secondly, through a survey of international trade markets on this medicinal plant, it was noted that different regions trade completely different species. For example, in China, Japan, Singapore, United Stated, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Lycium barbarum L. is traded, while in Korea only Lycium chinense Mill. is in the market. Moreover, in Xinjiang of China's northwest, Nitraria tangutorum Bobr. (Zygophyllaceae) is mistakenly treated as Gouqizi. In addition, it was found that the striking problem in the market is that the harmful chemical, Sulfur, is applied during processing the fruits to increase the visual attraction. Certainly, this greatly affects the quality of Gouqizi. A fast and novel technique, pH value determination, was employed for the first time to check if the fruits have been fumigated by Sulfur. If Sulfur fumigation is involved, the pH value will be lower than 4.5. This method proves to be a convenient and prompt way to test whether the Gouqizi is processed with Sulfur.; Field investigations and herbarium specimen study on the Chinese Lycium support the classification system recognized in the Flora of China. New data on the resource distribution of the two Chinese species, Lycium barbarum L. and L. chinense Mill. were added. A detailed comparison of morphological characters between the two species was made and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to authenticate the species of Lycium. Furthermore, the quantification of physalin and total carotenoids in Fructus Lycii from the Chinese species were examined. The results show that the different species of Lycium in China contain different quantity of physalin and total carotenoids.; Finally, Harsh's work on Lycium barbarum L. (Harsh 1989) was revisited. Harsh (1989) claimed that the species of L barbarum L. contains atropine. In order to find out if this is true for the Chinese specimens, both the Indian and Chinese specimens of L. barbarum L. were collected and analyzed. The results showed that Harsh's specimen was indeed attributed to a different species, i.e. L. europeau L. and L. barbarum L. does not contain any atropine. It is significant that the taxonomic identity of the Indian specimens has been clarified. |
