Berry, from the French baie, is a term used to name a fleshy fruit that has pulp, in which the seeds are found. Berries are generally edible, like grapes and cucumbers.
In berries, the ovary wall becomes a very fleshy pericarp when ripe. The seeds are distributed throughout the pulp and have one or more carpels.
There are different types of berries, such as polybayas (multiple berries) and peponids (berries of the cucurbits). Polybeads are syncarpals: fruits that fuse. An example of a polyberry is the custard apple, which is the fruit of the Annona cherimola.
The cucumber, the pumpkin, the melon and watermelon, moreover, are berries of cucurbits. In this case, the outer mesocarp and the exocarp harden, giving rise to a shell that allows the meat inside to be stored for a prolonged period of time.
From a botanical point of view, many commonly consumed fruits are berries. The lemon, the tangerine and orange, to name three cases are considered as modified berries. These are hesperidia, fruits with hardened pericarp (but not too much) and meat on the endocarp. This fleshy sector is constituted by the carpels that swell between the walls of the ovary. It should be remembered, as we mentioned above lines, that in traditional berries the fleshy part is formed by the pericarp (whose layers are the endocarp, the mesocarp and the epicarp).
Goji berries and their health benefits
Goji is a plant whose habitat is found in Tibet, in the high-altitude mountains, and belongs to the family from which the tomato also arises. The fruit has an invaluable wealth in fiber, vitamins, proteins, antioxidants, calcium and sugars, among other components, and this makes it very beneficial for the proper functioning of our body.
One of the effects of Goji berries that many pursue is anti-aging, which the Chinese already described in their ancient medicine manuals. It is believed that the secret of this property is found in its content of polyphenols, carotenes, trace elements and polysaccharides, all antioxidants that delay the aging of cells.
Antioxidants are also useful against oxidative stress, a disorder that occurs as a result of an imbalance between the amount of free radicals and antioxidants, and which damages cells. Premature aging is precisely one of its most obvious consequences, as well as the loss of elasticity and moisture in the skin.
The vitamin A present in Goji berries, which is found as beta-carotene, is capable of reducing the time necessary for the eye to adapt to the absence of light, so that it can be used to treat or prevent night blindness. Our eyes are constantly exposed to various threats, such as ultraviolet rays; Thanks to lutein and zeaxanthin, among other antioxidant flavonoids in these berries, it is possible to prevent the damage caused by macular degeneration and cataracts, in addition to stimulating visual acuity.
Since cardiovascular diseases cause a higher number of deaths annually than cancer, it is necessary to take all possible measures to prevent them. Currently, stress is almost impossible to avoid, since it arises as a result of sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and the demands of society, factors that often lead to high blood pressure. The Goji berry is also recommended to avoid this deterioration of the cardiovascular system so common in this era.
