Herb library · Herb · Schisandra chinensis
Schisandra
A red berry from traditional Chinese medicine, named for its five flavors and valued as a tonic. A few small trials in people exist, and it can change how the body handles some medicines.
Traditional use
A climbing plant whose red berry, Wu-wei-tzŭ, takes its Chinese name, "five flavors", from the tradition that it tastes sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and salty at once. Chinese medicine ascribed tonic, aphrodisiac, cough-soothing and calming properties to it. Today extracts of the fruit are studied in Korea for menopausal complaints and muscle strength.
Traditional energetics
Chinese materia medica
flavor: sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and salty. Chinese Materia Medica: Vegetable Kingdom (1911), p. 398 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Menopausal symptoms: in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 36 women took a schisandra extract or placebo for 6 weeks; symptom scores (especially hot flashes, sweating and palpitations) were lower with the extract. It was a single small trial.
- Limited
Muscle strength: in a randomized, double-blind trial of 45 postmenopausal women, 1,000 mg a day of extract for 12 weeks increased thigh muscle strength compared with placebo; muscle mass and other physical measures did not change.
Be careful of
Cautions
- InteractionIn 12 healthy volunteers, schisandra extract taken for 14 days raised blood levels of the drug talinolol by about half, by blocking a transporter (P-glycoprotein) that many medicines depend on. People on such medicines may need their doses checked.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician first.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“The drug is said to have five distinct tastes. The skin and pulp of the fruit are sweet and sour, the kernels are pungent and bitter, and the whole has a salty taste.”
“The fruit and branches contain a great amount of viscid mucoid material, and the Japanese women are said by Siebold to dress their hair with it, it being also used to size the Japanese mulberry-bark paper.”
Sources
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Schisandra chinensis for menopausal symptoms (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effect of Schisandra Chinensis Extract Supplementation on Quadriceps Muscle Strength and Fatigue in Adult Women: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effect of Schisandra chinensis extract and Ginkgo biloba extract on the pharmacokinetics of talinolol in healthy volunteers (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.