Longan Fruit Extract Powder

Description

What is a Longan Berry?
Commonly known in Chinese as Long Yan Rou, literally meaning “dragon eyes,” the Longan berry is the fruit of a tropical tree found throughout Southeast Asia, including southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Longan is so named because it resembles an eyeball when its fruit is shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris). The seed is small, round and hard, and an enamel-like, lacquered black. The fully ripened, freshly harvested shell is bark-like, thin, and firm, making the fruit easy to shell by squeezing the fruit out as if one is “cracking” a sunflower seed. When the shell has more moisture content and is more tender, the fruit becomes less convenient to shell.

The Health Benefits of Longan Berries
Longan berries are one of the three or more “super fruits” used as tonics in Chinese medicine. Two others would be jujube date (Zizyphus jujube) and goji berries (Lycium chinensis).

Longan used in traditional Chinese medicine as a blood tonic and as a tonic for Spleen and Heart, for low energy and with special benefit for the mind and improving memory.

Longan is high in glucose. As we know the brain relies on a steady supply of glucose for thought energy. The skull and brain usually contain about a third of the blood of the entire body. So it is easy to understand how glucose-rich Longan berries are used to counteract brain fatigue, anxiety, insomnia and poor memory. It is an essential herb to give to anyone but especially the aged who are prone to memory lapses, dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s as well. In this regard it is useful for anyone who thinks a lot and may experience occasional brain fog.

However it is not only the glucose of Longan berries that make them a superior blood tonic. Apparently, they are high in blood-enriching iron content, reportedly 20 times that of grapes and 15 times that of spinach! Iron is an important blood nutrient which carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells of the body. This is obviously important for maintaining youthfulness and vitality (both being therapeutic claims for Longan berries). However they have a special benefit for women in that they add luster and beauty to the skin and their iron-rich “red-blooded” properties enhance female attractiveness and serve as a special tonic for sexual vitality. Those individuals who have iron sensitivity need not worry because the iron is organically present and the body will be better able to regulate its usage.

Longan berries have a generally calming effect, which apart from relieving symptoms of anxiety and sleeplessness, contributes to an overall feeling of calm.

Finally, Longan berries are very beneficial for the skin, hair and eyes.