Schizandra, also spelled Schisandra, is revered for its ability to promote energy, vitality, and life. It is one of the primary herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years.
This unusual berry holds a top spot in Traditional Chinese Medicine for its superior medicinal benefits, 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.
In China, Schizandra is also used to increase "the water of the genitals," referring to its use in nourishing sexual fluids. It is also said to "calm the heart and quiet the spirit." Long term use is said to help to beautify the skin. Schizandra is also said to build wei chi, the defense energy of the body, so one is better able to resist infection. Schizandra is listed among China's most important herbs, and Chinese herbal medicine described Schizandra as a high-grade herbal drug useful for a wide variety of medical conditions - especially as a kidney tonic and lung astringent. Chinese herbalists still use Schizandra for coughs, night sweats, insomnia, thirst and physical exhaustion.
Schizandra is currently popular worldwide as a tonic, and in Asia, it is used as a food source. Schizandra Berry helps the body adapt to stress and nourishes the nervous system. Modern Chinese research suggests that lignins in Schizandra regenerate liver tissue damaged by harmful influences such as viral hepatitis and alcohol. Lignins are thought to lower blood levels of serum glutamic pyruvic trans-aminase (SGPT), a marker for infective hepatitis and other liver disorders. Schizandra fruit may also have an adaptogenic action, much like the herb Ginseng (Panax).
Schizandra has gained popularity by providing an alternative to caffeine. According to the book "Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer" by Donald Yance, Yance states that the schizandra berry activates the nervous system without the jittery side effect of caffeine. Schizandra has an adaptogenic quality, which means it can restore energy balance to the body. As reported by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, schizandra induced sleep in some mice and reduced sleep in others.
Laboratory work suggests that Schizandra may improve work performance, build strength and help to reduce fatigue. It is also used as a mild sedative. Using the berries internally is thought to help the body to better utilize oxygen, thereby improving human endurance. In China, a few berries are chewed daily for one hundred days in a row as a tonic to improve coordination and concentration. In the treatment of hepatitis, Schizandra has demonstrated a 76% success rate without harmful side effects. The primary chemical constituents of this herb include sesquicarene, lignins (schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, gomisin), schizoandrol, citral, phytosterols (stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol), vitamins C and E, essential oils and numerous acids.
As documented by the Health Sciences Institute, schizandra raises your body's amounts of the enzyme glutathione, which detoxifies you and, in turn, improves mental clarity. Yance describes schizandra berry as an herb that develops mental and physical health and can potentially increase the body's ability to adapt to varied stimuli.
Russian scientists in the Far East regions where the berries and seeds were used by hunters to improve night vision, as a tonic and to reduce hunger, thirst and exhaustion since "it gives forces to follow a sable all the day without food". "Pharmacological studies on animals have shown that Schizandra increases physical working capacity and affords a stress-protective effect against a broad spectrum of harmful factors including heat shock, skin burn, cooling, frostbite, immobilization, swimming under load in an atmosphere with decreased air pressure, aseptic inflammation, irradiation, and heavy metal intoxication. The phytoadaptogen exerts an effect on the central nervous, sympathetic, endocrine, immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal systems, on the development of experimental atherosclerosis, on blood sugar and acid-base balance, and on uterus myotonic activity."
Some possible benefits of our Raw Organic Sun Dried Schizandra Berries may include:
● Adaptogenic actions
● Increasing energy without the jittery side effect of caffeine
● Detoxifying the entire body
● Improving coordination
● Nourishing the nervous system
● Reducing coughs
● Removing parasites
● Improving night vision
● Boosting concentration & mental focus
● Reducing hunger & thirst
● Restoring energy balance to the body
● Beautifies the skin
● Helping the body to better utilize oxygen
● Regenerating liver tissue
● Raising your body's glutathione enzyme levels
● Helping the body adapt to mental & physical stresses
● Improving liver & kidney health
● Reducing insomnia
● Increasing energy supply to vital organs
● Improving work performance, building strength & helping to reduce fatigue
Schizandra is a woody vine with numerous clusters of tiny, bright red berries. It is natively found throughout northern and northeast China and the adjacent regions of Russia and Korea. The berries are immediately low temperature dried after harvesting, perfectly preserving all the nutrition of this incredible fruit. You will see, taste and feel the difference of the world's very best organic schizandra.
The fully ripe, sun-dried fruit is used medicinally, and it has a sour, sweet, salty, hot and bitter taste. This unusual combination of flavors is reflected in Schizandra's Chinese name, wu-wei-zi, meaning "five taste fruit." Perhaps the best adjective to describe the taste is to just call it intense.
Suggested Use: Eat 1 small handful (1 oz) per day. Add to smoothies, salads, desserts, yogurt or cereal. Use in homemade trail mixes or energy bars.
Botanical Name: Schisandra chinensis
Other Names: Five flavor berry, Schisandra berry, Magnola vine, Wu-wei-zi, Gomishi, Schisandra Fruit, Fruit of Five Flavors, Sandra Berry Vine, Omicha
Origin: China - Certified Organic
Z Natural Foods strives to offer the highest quality organically grown, raw, vegan, gluten free, non-GMO products available and exclusively uses low temperature drying techniques to preserve all the vital enzymes and nutrients. Our Sun Dried Raw Schizandra Berries are certified organic and pass our strict quality assurance which includes testing for botanical identity, heavy metals, chemicals and microbiological contaminants. ZNaturalFoods.com offers Raw Organic Sun Dried Schizandra Berries packaged in airtight stand-up, resealable foil pouches for optimum freshness. Once opened, just push the air out of the pouch before resealing it in order to preserve maximum potency. Keep your Organic Sun Dried Raw Schzsandra Berries in a cool, dark, dry place.