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.