What Is Schizandra Fruit?
The schizandra fruit is native to East Asia and the fruit's berries have been used as food and credited with a plethora of healthful properties. It is considered by some to be an "adaptogenic" herb and is used in many medical herbal preparations in Eastern countries---especially China. It is also spelled schisandra.
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Plant
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Schizandra is a woody vine with berries clustered in a grape-like bunch. It is grown in northern and northeastern China and in some areas of Japan, Russia and Korea. It grows to heights of about 25 feet and features pink flowers. The berries ripen to bright red in the fall.
Taste
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Schizandra fruit has a complicated taste: sweet, salty, bitter, hot and sour all at the same time, according to phytochemicals.info. The Chinese name for schizandra is "wu wei zi," which means five-taste fruit.
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Energies and Treasures
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According to the website for Natural News, the five tastes also relate to the five "elemental energies" of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and therefore benefit the body's five major organ systems. Schizandra is also considered by some to contain the "three treasures": sexual enhancement, beauty enhancement and memory improvement.
Uses
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The website efloras.org says schizandra is a "potential source of expectorants, immune response boosters, and anti-ulcer compounds," and also a treatment for hepatitis and for central nervous system problems. It may also be used in wine and tea.
Schizandra has more than two dozen "lignins," according to hubpages.com, making it beneficial to the liver.
The website for Natural News says schizandra is an "adaptogenic" herb, meaning it "usually has a normalizing action irrespective of the direction of the pathological state." That means that for any health problem---mental, sexual or environmental---schizandra may be able to help normalize the body.
Scientific studies have found schizandra can be related to improved liver function in some cases, but other touted benefits are as yet unproven.
Family
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The schizandra fruit belongs to the "Magnoliaceae" or Magnolia family, according to the website phytochemicals.info.
Nutrition
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In addition to phytochemicals, schizandra is rich in minerals, vitamins and essential oils, according to phytochemicals.info.
Other Monikers
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Wu wei zi, Schisandra chinensis, gomisis and gomishi, Chinese mock-braberry and lemonwood are other names for schizandra fruit.
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References
- Phytochemicals: Schizandra
- Flora of North America: Schisandraceae Blume
- Hubpages: Schizandra Its Health Benefits
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine: Evaluation of the antiradical activity of Schisandra chinensis lignans using different experimental models.
