Visual fatigue is a very common disease in ophthalmology, Chinese medicine believes that the function of the eyes to “see” depends on the nourishment of liver blood, blood stored in the liver, regulated by the liver, control. Nourish the eyes first nourish the liver, when feeling dry eyes, eye astringency, eye pain and other symptoms of visual fatigue, the need to clear the liver in order to brighten the eyes. This article summarizes the efficacy of Chinese medicine wolfberry and ginkgo biloba in relieving visual fatigue as follows:

Chinese wolfberry

Lycium belongs to the genus Lycium, family Solanaceae, for the mature fruit of Lycium, family Solanaceae, is a kind of tonic class of valuable traditional Chinese medicine, the world about more than 80 kinds of Lycium, China’s Lycium to Ningxia’s quality of Lycium is the best. Chinese medicine health science, Chinese wolfberry taste sweet and moist, with tonic kidney, nourish yin, benefit essence, nourish blood, nourish the liver, bright eyes, benefit qi and other effects. The Compendium of Materia Medica describes Chinese wolfberry as “nourishing the kidney and moistening the lungs, generating essence and benefiting qi, and brightening the eyes”.

Modern scientific research confirms the above statement. The chemical composition of wolfberry mainly includes sugars, amino acids, trace elements, carotene, vitamin A, B1, B2, C and other essential nutrients for healthy eyes.

1.1 Vitamin A
Wolfberry is rich in vitamin A and carotene, carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the body, vitamin A, also known as retinol or anti-dry eye factor, is a constituent of the retinal plasma in the visual cells to feel the weak light, which plays an important role in the maintenance of normal visual function, and it can prevent night blindness and vision loss, and it helps in the treatment of many kinds of eye diseases.

1.2 Zeaxanthin
Wolfberry is rich in zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin is a kind of oxygenated natural carotenoid, it belongs to the isomer with lutein, zeaxanthin is an important ingredient that can prevent ultraviolet rays from damaging the optic nerves of the eyes, however, the human body can’t produce zeaxanthin, it is only through the extraction from the food, which through the intake of goji berries is the important guarantee for the supplementation of zeaxanthin in the human body.

1.3 Taurine
Lycium barbarum contains 19 kinds of amino acids, including 8 kinds of essential amino acids, totaling 9.14%, and it is also found to contain aminoethanesulfonic acid, i.e., taurine, which is the only plant that has been reported to contain taurine, and its content reaches 0.205%-0.689%. Taurine is a structurally simple sulfur-containing amino acid that exists in free form in the retina but is not involved in protein synthesis. In vivo, a decrease in the concentration of taurine in the retina will result in disruption of photoreceptor structure, accompanied by severe visual dysfunction and electroretinographic abnormalities. Taurine at physiologic levels in the retina is important for maintaining the structure and function of optic cells.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is a kind of plant leaves with high medicinal value, the chemical composition mainly has flavonoid glycosides, terpene lactones, polyisoprenols, organic acids, ginkgo biloba phenolic acids and alkylphenols, alkylphenolic acids, ginkgolic acid, etc. Vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids and calcium, phosphorus, boron, selenium, and other minerals are also very rich in more than the general fruits and vegetables and edible plant materials.

Chinese medicine theory that ginkgo biloba is sweet, bitter, astringent, flat, astringent lung asthma, blood stasis and other effects. With the further understanding of its pharmacological effects, ginkgo biloba has been found to be effective in relieving visual fatigue. Studies have shown that Ginkgo biloba has the following main effects in improving patients’ vision:

2.1 Inhibit platelet aggregation
The lactones contained in Ginkgo biloba can inhibit a substance called platelet activating factor, so Ginkgo biloba can reduce blood viscosity, inhibit platelet aggregation, increase the elasticity of small arteries, increase vascular permeability, and thus increase retinal transparency.

Vasodilation. Ginkgo biloba can play the role of vasodilatation by elevating the calcium ion concentration of vascular endothelial cells, increasing the activity of nitric oxide synthase, and then increasing the generation of nitric oxide, and can also play the role of vasodilatation by increasing the PGI2 and decreasing the TXA2, so ginkgo biloba can dilate the microvessels in the retina, reduce the vascular tension in the retina, and inhibit the formation of micro thrombus, so as to improve the visual function of patients.

2.2 Optic nerve protection
Ginkgo biloba can increase the blood supply of the choroid and retina, thus improving the visual function. It is widely recognized in the medical community that the eye needs to constantly overcome the resistance to fluctuating intraocular pressure in order to regulate the optic nerve blood flow rate when performing normal physiological activities.

Ginkgo biloba improves central and peripheral blood flow, resetting vasospasm and reducing apoptosis; Ginkgo biloba inhibits glutamate toxicity, thereby slowing down apoptosis in nodal cells; the natural antioxidant activity of ginkgo biloba effectively protects mitochondrial function and plays a protective role against tissue and cellular injuries due to different causes, thus preserving the structural and functional integrity of mitochondria. Ginkgo biloba protects retinal ganglion cells by altering ocular microcirculation, protecting optic neurons, and protecting mitochondria.

In conclusion, wolfberry and ginkgo biloba are rich in a variety of essential nutrients for the eyes, and have excellent efficacy in relieving visual fatigue, therefore, the combination of wolfberry and ginkgo biloba in fatigue-relieving products will achieve good results.