Schizandra Berries 50 g, 25 g

Schizandra Berries – 100 g ($18.99), 50 g ($12.99), 25 g ($8.99)

Benefits:
Schizendrais now a recognized adaptogen—a substance capable of increasing the body’s resistance to disease and stress. Chinese medicine uses it for digestion issues such as intestinal inflammation, insomnia, urinary frequency, cough, chronic diarrhea, profuse sweating, and hepatitis. It is said to balance body functions, improve mental function, increase stamina and physical performance, and energize RNA and DNA molecules to rebuild cells. Some reports show that it may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but Schizandra is not typically used for these purposes.

Schizandra is also one of the most useful herbs from the herbal traditions of Asia for the treatment of liver diseases. Because it stimulates the central nervous system to maintain breathing, Schizendra has been used as an antidote to morphine overdose. It also increases visual acuity and field of vision, as well as tactile sensitivity.

Cancer. Schizendra protects the heart muscle during cancer chemotherapy treatment with doxorubicin (Adriamycin, Rubex), but it does not interfere with doxorubicin’s action on cancer cells. A subfraction (or bioactive chemical) of Schizendra, gomisin A, was shown to have anticarcinogenic effects in rat livers. Some researchers have suggested that gomisin A has inhibitory effects on liver cancer in animals and may be useful for liver cancer in humans someday. In one study, women being treated with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer experienced improved immunity from a product that contained Schizendra (AdMax).

Diseases of the liver and hepatitis. Schizendra protects the liver from chemical damage, particularly damage from chemicals that have to be activated by the liver to become poisonous, such as carbon tetrachloride. Laboratory studies show that Schizendra extracts increase the liver’s ability to make the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which deactivates several kinds of toxic free radicals that attack the outer membranes of liver cells. Glutathione peroxidase also helps offset damage done to the liver by chronic viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Schizendra contains lignin compounds that lower high levels of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) in the blood, which is an indication of hepatitis.

Schizendra’s chemical constituent gomisin A blocks the production of the fatty acid arachidonic acid, which is a building block of inflammation-inducing leukotrienes. By blocking the production of arachidonic acid, gomisin A prevents liver inflammation and tissue destruction, and does so without severely compromising the immune system’s capacity to respond to the underlying infection. Gomisin A also stimulates liver regeneration. Animal studies show that it stimulates the growth of healthy liver tissue by increasing the production of ornithine decarboxylase, an enzyme critical to protein synthesis in the early stages of tissue recovery. Gomisin A makes Schizendra useful in hastening recovery from liver surgery.

Cardiomyopathy. Schizendra has been shown to improve cardiac function when facing cardiomyopathy when used with digoxin. In one study, symptoms of the disease were lessened and there were no side effects when participants used digoxin plus Schizendra in a product called Sheng Mei.

Insomnia, restless legs syndrome, stress, depression, fatigue, and excessive sweating. Schizandrin, gamma-schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, and schizandra are active compounds in Schizendra that help to relieve emotional and physical depression and reverse depression of the central nervous system. Animal studies have found that schizendra increases sleeping time when used with the sleep-inducing drug phenobarbital. Schizendra also increases the effectiveness of benzodiazepine tranquilizers, such as chlordiazepoxide (Librium) and diazepam (Valium), allowing patients to take lower doses of these potentially addictive drugs. The herb can be used by itself to treat insomnia, dizziness, excessive sweating, headache, fatigue, and heart palpitations associated with emotional stress. In one study, athletes who took extracts of schizendra and bryonia alba experienced increased physical performance. Both mental and physical fatigue are reduced with Schizendra.

Skin cancer. A few animal studies have found that Schizendra contains compounds that prevent the development of skin cancer after chemical injury. However, human data are lacking and it was not used historically for this condition.

Recommended Use
Schizendra should not be used by people with epilepsy, severe high blood pressure, or intracranial pressure. Some reports of heartburn, peptic ulcer, central nervous system depression, hives, loss of appetite, and stomach upset have been reported. Schisandra may increase the flow of bile. People who have gallstones or blockages of the bile ducts therefore should not use this herb. Schizendra also stimulates the uterus and induces labor, so it should be avoided during pregnancy. It also should not be used during lactation.

Botanical Name: Schisandra chinensis
English: Schizendra, Five flavor berry
Also, known as: Bac ngu vi tu, bei wuweizi, Chinesischer Limonenbaum, Chinese magnolia vine, Chinese mock-barberry, chosen-gomishi, lemonwood, limonnik kitajskij, matsbouza, m mei gee, ngu mei gee, northern magnoliavine, o-mee-ja, o-mi-d ja, o-mi-ja, omicha, ornija, pen ts’ ao, schisandra, dheng-mai-yin, wu-wei-zi, wu-weitzu and shisandra
Habitat: Asia
Origin: China
Harvested: Cultivated
Parts Used: Fruit

General Information:
Schizendra is native to Asia. The woody vine grows to 25 feet (7.5 meters) and has white, yellow, or pink fragrant flowers, followed by bunches of red berries with two seeds inside. The vine is also known as bay star vine, magnolia vine, and wu Wei Zi.

The berries are irregularly spheroidal or compressed-spheroidal, 5-8 mm in diameter, externally dark red to blackish red or covered with “white powder”, wrinkled, oily, with soft pulp. Seeds, one to two, reniform, externally brownish yellow to dark red-brown, lustrous, with distinct raphe on the dorsal side.

 

How to use:
We make these suggestions to help you get the best benefit from the herbs that you’re choosing to improve your health. Also we make these ideas and recommendations so that consuming them easier and better fit into your lifestyle by adding them to the food that you already eat.
For the full health benefit, it is best to consume (or use the whole herb in poultices) the whole herb. All of the compounds in the herb act best together, as nature intends. Extracts draw out the most prominent beneficial compounds and may concentrate them. What is not extracted can be helpful in ways that we do not yet understand.

Cut Pieces or Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use cut pieces or powdered herb.
Food Preparation: You can add powdered or pieces of herb (if the pieces you buy are bigger than you like, a coffee or herb grinder will quickly reduce) to any yogurt, smoothie, apple or other sauces, spreads, salads or other foods more familiar to you that don’t use heat. Heat can be damaging to the beneficial compounds in the herb. Other options like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce, soup, cookies and anything else that fits your lifestyle, but minimizing (by adding near the end of cooking) the heat is helpful.
Also, for children, you can mix powdered herb with honey or glycerin to make paste. The thicker the paste, the more potent and herbal in taste. The sweet taste of honey and glycerin will help medicine go down. The resulting liquid is called an electuary.
For seeds in general, but especially small seeds, it’s best to grind these to break the protective hulls a short time before consumption. This makes all the benefits available, rather than some remaining locked inside the hulls that are unbroken by insufficient chewing.
To make adding herbs even easier, you could add a week’s worth of your chosen herb(s) to an amount of, for example, yogurt that you would eat in a week. Mix thoroughly and eat this each day of the week. So you make once /week and just eat each other day.
Hot Infusion: The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup or teapot. Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. The heat from making tea can degrade some of the beneficial compounds in the herb. This method minimizes this effect. For the full health benefit, it is recommended to consume what is left over after making tea.
Decoctions: Decoctions are suitable for roots, barks, large seeds & berries, and other dense material. The simple way to make decoction is, in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs to 1 cup of water, Bring the water to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes with the pot covered. Squeeze out as much as liquid as possible. Best practice is to drink the liquid and also consume the solid material that remains. Herb pieces can also be used.
Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use powdered herb.
Capsules: HerbsCrafters makes capsules guaranteed to be filled with the pure herb with no filler or any other products. You can also use powdered herb to make your own capsules at home. These capsules are best taken with liquid to aid in digestion and absorption and to ensure it doesn’t stick in your throat.
Poultice: Poultice can be made with an herbal powder and liquid (mostly water) to form a paste which is then applied to the skin. This method is very helpful for skin conditions.
Herbal shot: Powdered herb can be mixed with water, fruit juice or other liquid to make herbal shot.

Tips:
You can sweeten your herbal decoctions with bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder or licorice root powder.

Precautions:
You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
All information on this website is for educational purpose ONLY.
This information has not been evaluated by Health Canada.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

How Much To Use
It is common that 10g of a fresh herb = 1g when dehydrated.
Recommended daily amount: ½ -2 tsp of schisandra berries (1.5-6 g)/day. This can be split into 2 or more uses/day and added to food, drink or to make tea.