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Information:
Other
Common Names
Five Flavor Fruit
Page
Number In Radiant Health
145
Pharmaceutical
Latin
Fructus Schizandra
Pinyin
Wu Wei Zi
Treasures
Jing, Qi, Shen
Treasure
Rating
*****
Atmospheric
Energy
warm
Taste
Sour and sweet with salty, pungent and bitter overtones
Organ
Meridian Systems
enters all twelve meridians
Part
Used and Form
Fruit with seed
Primary
Functions
Broad spectrum adaptogenic, promotes beauty, tonifies
Kidney, rejuvenates the Lungs, purifies Liver,
eliminates toxins, astringent
Qualities
Schizandra develops the primary energies of life and is
thus of great use to any one who consumes it. Schizandra
generates vitality and radiant beauty when used
regularly for some time. It is a safe and powerful tonic
herb which is mildly calming and possessing
pain-alleviating properties. If used for 100 days
successively, Schizandra is said to purify the blood,
sharpen the mind, improve memory, rejuvenate the Kidney
energy (especially the sexual energy and functions in
both men and women), and cause the skin to become
radiantly beautiful.
The very name of Schizandra in Chinese tells us a great
deal about the qualities of this herb. Wu Wei Zi means
"Five Taste Fruit." Due to the fact that
Schizandra possesses all five of the classical
"tastes" (sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and
salty) and thus possesses the essence of all five of the
elemental energies (wood, fire, earth, metal and water),
Schizandra is respected as a health-providing tonic in
the same class with Ginseng and Ganoderma.
The Taoists especially revered Schizandra. Schizandra
was my teacher's, Sung Jin Park's, favorite herb. This
is because Schizandra contains all five elemental
energies in abundance, contains all three treasures in
abundance, and enters all twelve meridians. Master Park
considered it to be the quintessential herbal substance.
Though Schizandra is believed to benefit all the
functions of the body, its has traditionally been
considered to have the most influence on the Kidney,
Lung and Liver functions.
Schizandra is said to increase the Water Qi in the
Kidney. In particular, it is said to vastly increase the
"water of the genital organs," referring to
the sexual fluids. Schizandra is said to promote the
production of semen. It is famous for its ability to
relieve sexual fatigue and for increasing the sexual
staying-power in men. It is thus an ingredient in the
vast majority of men's sexual tonics in Asian herbalism.
Women benefit from the same capacity to increase Water
Qi of the Kidney. Schizandra is said to increase
circulation and sensitivity in the female genitals. Many
women claim increased genital warmth and sensation after
using Schizandra for a period of time. The Chinese
sexual classics claim that continuous use by a woman
will increase the amount of "female elixir," a
euphemism for vaginal secretions, during intercourse. On
the other hand, Schizandra is used clinically to help
counteract vaginal discharge.
For both men and women, Schizandra is considered to have
"aphrodisiac" qualities, especially when
combined with other Kidney tonifying herbs like Lycium,
Cistanche, deer antler, Epimedium, etc. Furthermore,
Schizandra is one of the most important astringent herbs
used in Chinese herbalism. An astringent herb conserves
fluids, and in the case of Schizandra, it tends to
contain sexual fluids until the appropriate time of
release. Thus, consuming Schizandra for a period of
time, one tends to build up sexual fluids. Schizandra is
used in sexual formulations to prevent premature
ejaculation and to help promote incredible endurance.
Schizandra is widely used to beautify the skin and to
protect the skin from the damaging effects of the sun
and wind. Due to the astringent quality of Schizandra,
the skin tends to hold its moisture and becomes full and
beautiful. It has always been very popular with the
wealthy men and women of China because of its youth
preserving and rejuvenating effects. It is said that
those who use Schizandra consistently will remain
youthful in both appearance and physiology. I have seen
the benefits of this herb with my own eyes hundreds of
times in my life. People who start taking Schizandra
regularly all change for the better. Their skin
virtually glows and becomes clear and fine after several
months.
This herb is considered to be one of the premium mind
tonics of herbalism. It is used to sharpen
concentration, improve memory and increase alertness.
Yet, unlike caffeine-like stimulants, Schizandra does
not produce nervousness. In fact, some people consider
Schizandra mildly "calming" while producing
wakefulness and improved focus.
Schizandra is one of the primary cleansing tonic herbs
used in Chinese herbalism. Schizandra stands along with
Reishi as the primary liver cleansing agents used in
tonic programs. Schizandra does not have the side
effects that are associated with many of the
"medicinal," or "inferior" liver
cleansing herbs. It is believed that by taking
Schizandra regularly, it is possible to rid the body of
toxins before they have a chance to do serious damage.
Schizandra, especially alcohol extracts, are widely
believed to protect the liver from damage due to
poisons, as well as the by-products of living.
Schizandra is among the most popular tonic herbs in Asia
and is frequently pictured in ancient art as a symbol of
longevity, and even the ability to attain
"immortality."
Scientific
Data
The fruit of Schizandra chinensis contains numerous
lignin's, schizandrins A, B and C, deoxyschizandrin, g-schizandrin,
pseudo-g-schizandrin, schizandrol and Schizandra esters.
Fructus Schizandra contains approximately 3% volatile
oil. It also contains vitamins C and E, citral, b-sitosterol
and citric acid.
Schizandra is considered to be one of the premier
adaptogens. Just like Ginseng, Acanthopanax and
Gynostemma, Schizandra increases resistance of the body
and mind against nonspecific stimuli. It can protect the
body from damage due to extreme or chronic stress. In
particular, it can protect the adrenals and prevent
atrophy due to extreme stress.
Schizandra has been demonstrated in laboratory animals
and in humans to have a stimulant action on the central
nervous system. The herb works directly on the nervous
tissue. Many studies now indicate that Schizandra
actually has a powerful balancing, or regulating, action
on the central nervous system. It can result in accurate
and optimal balancing between the excitatory and
inhibitory control functions of the cerebral cortex.
It has been demonstrated that human intellectual
activity can be enhanced and work efficiency increased
by consuming Schizandra. Various tests have shown that
moderate therapeutic doses of Schizandra can improve
various activities requiring concentration, fine
coordination, sensitivity and endurance. The tests in
humans confirming Schizandra's efficacy in these areas
range from threading needles to running marathons.
Human studies have also shown that Schizandra can
improve vision, even enlarging the field of vision, and
can improve hearing. It also improves the discrimination
ability of the skin receptors. It has been determined
that this increased sensitivity is due to improved
function of the central nervous system's ability to
analyze data flowing to it from the peripheral sensors
Schizandra has been shown to have significant
respiratory strengthening capacity. It can cause the
breathing to be both deeper and more powerful.
Schizandra also has significant expectorant and
antitussive action.
Fructus Schizandra has been shown to have significant
hepatic protective effects. It can promote the
regeneration of liver tissue, and promotes protein
synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis. It is believed that
the protective action of Schizandra is partly due to its
ability to promote the regeneration of mitochondria in
hepatic cells. Also, it can improve the function of the
cell membrane, lowering its permeability which in turn
minimizes enzyme leakage into the blood stream.
It can reduce elevated SGPT in patients with chronic
hepatitis. In a clinical study conducted in China, more
than 5000 people suffering from various types of
hepatitis were given Schizandra and the results were
very good. The aggregate effective rate was 84-97.9%.
SGPT was normalized in about 75% of the cases.
In another clinical study, Schizandra was proved to be
very effective in treating various neurotic symptoms,
including insomnia, headache, dizziness, blurred vision,
palpitations and nocturnal emission. It has even been
used in cases of psychosis, with symptoms of
hallucination, paranoia and neurosis, with good results.
Schizandra chinensis has been found to induce the
production in human beings of g-interferon. It contains
shizandrin, schizandrol, volatile oil, chamigrenal,
malic acid citric acid, tartaric acid, Vitamin C, etc.
Extracts of Schizandra have been shown to induce
non-specific resistance in humans, comparable to similar
effects well established for Panax Ginseng, Astragalus
and Ganoderma.
Fructus Schizandra is an ingredient in an extremely
important tonic preparation called Formula for Restoring
the Pulse, which consists of Panax Ginseng, Ophiopogon
root and Schizandra fruit. This formula has been broadly
studied in China as an example of how tonic formulations
work and because it is very widely used in Chinese
hospitals. Experiments have shown that this formula has
the effect of dilating blood vessels, increasing the
coronary blood flow, enhancing the anoxic tolerance,
reducing toxicity of toxins to the body.. It is
effective for cardiac shock, acute myocardial infarction
and myocarditis, and is tonifying to the heart and
effective at raising blood pressure in patients with low
blood pressure.
Primary
Combinations
Schizandra may be consumed alone, but it is most
commonly combined with other tonic herbs. Combine with:
1. Rehmannia (steamed) and Lycium to tonify the Kidneys
and Liver, and to promote the production of hormones
2. Licorice Root to cleanse the Liver to Lungs
3. Ganoderma to protect the Liver and to strengthen the
mind
4. Cistanche to tonify Kidney yang and to promote the
production of hormones
5. Cuscuta to conserve Jing and protect yin
Varieties
and Grading
There are two varieties of Schizandra: Northern and
Southern. Northern Schizandra is generally considered to
be superior to the southern variety (except by southern
collectors and merchants). It is stronger tasting and
more potent. The skin and meat of the Schizandra fruit
are sweet and sour, the core is pungent and bitter, the
whole fruit salty. Virtually all Schizandra is collected
wild in the mountains and hills away from cities and
industrial areas.
The fruit, which is mature in the fall, is a beautiful,
radiant violet-red. The plant grows by entwining itself
around short trees in dense areas where forest and
grassland meet. In my experience searching for
Schizandra in Northern China, I have always found that
Schizandra tends to grow in relatively inaccessible
areas, often near cliffs and streams. It is almost
impossible to cultivate Schizandra and very few farmers
try. Cultivated Schizandra is not accepted in the
market. However, wild Schizandra is not overly abundant
and the end users should appreciate the difficulty that
collectors experience in collecting it.
History
Schizandra has been used since the dawn of Chinese
civilization as a tonic herb. From the beginning it has
been revered, and remains one of the elite herbs of the
Chinese system of herbalism. It was first written about
in Shen Nong's Pharmacopoeia, where it was listed as a
Superior herb. Ancient people considered Schizandra to
be the quintessence of tonic herbs and the master of the
five elements. Numerous stories and documents express
that taking it often would help a person recover their
youthful vigor and prolong their life. Schizandra was
very popular with the emperors of China because it was
believed that Schizandra added to sexual stamina, and
since Chinese emperors always had many concubines, this
was considered a primary asset. Chinese women
historically held it in very high favor as well,
especially the women of the imperial court, because of
its beauty enhancing qualities. Taoists appreciated it
because it was the quintessence of herbs helping to
develop their spiritual power. Common people used it to
promote vigor and alertness.
According to the ancient book Bao Pu Zi, there was a
gentleman named Huai Nan Gong who had been taking
Schizandra for 16 years. As a result, he had the
complexion of a "Jade Girl" ( a way of
expressing beauty in Chinese). The Bao Pu Zi states that
Huai Nan Gong would stay dry in water and unburned in
fire. This story shows that Schizandra was believed
capable of maintaining a human body's beauty and
strength and protecting the body from harm due to the
elements.
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Schizandra
is a famous tonic historically consumed by Chinese
royalty and by Daoist masters. It is one of the few
herbs that contains all three treasures. Schizandra is
renowned as a beauty tonic and is considered to be a
youth preserving herb. It has been used for centuries to
make the skin soft, moist and radiant. It is also said
to be a powerful tonic to the brain and mind, and is
believed in China to improve memory. It is also said to
be an excellent sexual tonic when consumed regularly. It
is said to help produce abundant sexual fluids, increase
sexual endurance and to strengthen the whole body. It is
used in many tonic formulations as an
"astringent." Schizandra has a wonderful
multi-layered flavor when processed properly.