This study aimed to develop and evaluate goji berry (Lycium barbarum) beverages with enhanced sensory quality through the addition of fruit extracts. Five formulations were prepared using hot water extracts of dried goji berries, blended with varying proportions of concentrated apple and aronia extracts. Each beverage was adjusted to 7 of °Brix and standardized with citric acid and stevia to ensure consistent sweetness and acidity. Sensory evaluation was conducted by 20 panelists using a 9-point hedonic scale to assess sweetness, sourness, bitterness, color, aroma, and overall acceptability. Significant differences among samples were confirmed through one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD post-hoc test. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were performed to explore patterns in the sensory data. The beverage formulation containing 70% goji berry extract, 15% apple extract, and 14.93% aronia extract, along with sodium citric acid and stevia, demonstrated the highest overall acceptability among all samples. This was followed by the formulation composed of 70% goji berry extract, 15% apple extract, and 15% aronia extract. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified sweetness, aroma, and overall acceptability as the primary sensory attributes influencing consumer preference, with the first two principal components accounting for 95.61% of the total variance. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) further confirmed these findings by grouping the two formulations together based on their sensory profiles. In conclusion, blending goji berry extract with complementary fruit extracts such as apple and aronia significantly improves the sensory quality and consumer acceptability of functional beverages. These findings suggest that optimized fruit blending may be a promising strategy for enhancing the palatability and marketability of goji-based health beverages.

Lycium barbarum extract has a high potential to be developed as a health functional food due to the various health-promoting effects of Lycium barbarum. This study analyzed changes in nutritional and functional components depending on the extraction solvent (purified water and a mixture of purified water and alcohol) and the condition of the sample. The nutritional components (carbohydrates, protein, fat, ash), organic acids, amino acids, total phenolic compounds, and total flavonoids of the extract produced during the extraction process were analyzed. The nutritional composition and functional substances of the extracts showed some differences depending on the type of solvent and the condition of the sample. The amounts of crude protein (7.61%), crude fat (1.63%), carbohydrate (90.22%), and ash (0.54%) of dried Lycium barbarum extract using purified water as a solvent were similar to those of the powder sample extract. The highest content of citric acid was 4.31 mg/mL, similar to the case of acetic acid, when the powder sample used a mixture of purified water and alcohol as a solvent. The highest amino acid content was 357.39 mg/mL when the powder sample was mixed with purified water and alcohol as a solvent. The total amount of phenolic compounds was 686.16 g/L when the powder sample was extracted with a mixture of purified water and alcohol as a solvent. The highest total flavonoid content was 111.32 g/L when the powder sample was extracted with a mixture of purified water and alcohol as a solvent.

This study is concerned with the optimization of the manufacturing process of a hot water extract containing antioxidant activity from Lycium barbarum, traditionally known to have various physiological activities. For the establishment of the optimization process, the central composite design of response surface methodology(RSM) was used. Thirteen extraction processes were performed by encoding the independent variables, extraction temperature (65.9oC–94.1oC) and extraction time (2.59 hr–5.41 hr). As a result of the experiment, the optimal manufacturing conditions for the extract were 340.0 mg/100 g of GAE at an extraction temperature of 94.1oC and an extraction time of 5 hr. The maximum yield of flavonoids was 22.44 mg/100 g of HES at an extraction temperature of 94.1oC and an extraction time of 4 hr. The conditions for producing the extract with the maximum antioxidant capacity (DPPH 92.12%) were 90oC and 4.5 hr extraction time. Therefore, the optimal manufacturing process conditions for extracts containing total phenol content, flavonoid content, and DPPH radical scavenging activity, which are dependent variables, were extraction temperature of 90-95oC and extraction time of 4 hr, which were not significantly different from the actual values. Therefore, Lycium barbarum extract rich in total phenol and flavonoid content related to antioxidant function is expected to be used as a functional food and cosmetic material.

This study was undertaken to develop a technique of discrimination using SSR makers in boxthorn cultivars.Forty one boxthorn cultivars, which were collected from Korea and China, were evaluated by 10 SSR markers. Total of 61alleles were detected, ranging from 3 to 13 with an average of 6.1 alleles per locus. The averages of gene diversity and PICvalues were 0.482 and 0.428, with a range from 0.25 (GB-LCM-022 and GB-LCM-087) to 0.83 (GB-LCM-167) and from0.24 (GB-LCM-022 and GB-LCM-087) to 0.81 (GB-LCM-167), respectively. Five markers out of 10 markers, GB-LCM-022, GB-LCM-075, GB-LCM-104, GB-LCM-167 and GB-LCM-217, were selected as key markers for discrimination inboxthorn cultivars. All of boxthorn cultivars were individually distinguished by the combination of five SSR markers.