Also known as the Chinese wolfberry, lycium comes from a medium-sized bush that is native to east Asia and Europe. The fruit is bright red in appearance and about the size of a kidney bean. Lycium fruit contains a variety of chemicals and chemical compounds, including valine, glutamine, taurine, carotene, vitamins B1 and B2, vitamin C, and more than a dozen kinds of sterols.

In traditional Chinese medicine, lycium fruit has sweet and neutral properties, and is associated with the liver, kidney and lung meridians. Its functions are to tonify the kidneys and promote the production of jing; to nourish the liver; and to moisten the lungs. The first recorded use of lycium as a form of herbal medicine is from the first century, AD, in which it was used as a tonic to treat the liver, kidneys and blood. Among the conditions lycium fruit is used to treat are coughs, dizziness, blurred vision and other vision problems, and soreness of the lower back and knees. Some studies have shown that lycium fruit can improve the immune system.