www.Amazing-Health-Products.com

GNLD's Herbs For Wellness !!!

Schisandra chinensis ("five flavor berry") is a deciduous woody vine native to forests of Northern China and the Russian Far East.  It is hardy in USA Zone 4.  The plant likes some shade with moist, well-drained soil.  The species itself is dioecious, thus flowers on a female plant will only produce fruit when fertilized with pollen from a male plant.  However, there is a hybrid selection titled "Eastern Prince" which has perfect flowers and is self-fertile.  Gardeners should beware that seedlings of "Eastern Prince" are sometimes sold under the same name but are typically single-sex plants.

Etymology

Its Chinese name comes from the fact that its berries possess all five basic flavors: salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and bitter.  Sometimes it is more specifically called the "northern five flavor berry" to distinguish it from another traditionally medicinal schisandraceous plant, Kadsura japonica, that grows only in subtropical areas.

General uses

Its berries are used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs.  They are most often used in dried form, and boiled to make a tea.  Medicinally it is used as a tonic and restorative adaptogen with notable clinically documented liver protecting effects.  The primary hepatoprotective (liver protecting) and immuno-modulating constituents are the lignans schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, gomisins, and pregomisin, which are found in the seeds of the fruit.  It should not be used by pregnant women.

Use in traditional Chinese medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine, Schisandra chinensis is believed to:

1. Nourish the Kidneys
2. Stop Diarrhea -- astringent Kidneys
3. Arrest excessive sweating from Yin or Yang deficiency
4. Calm the Spirit by tonification of Heart and Kidney
5. Generate body fluids and alleviate thirst

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Other Herbal Products: