Schisandra Berries Whole Cert. Organic (Schizandra chinensis; Wu Wei Zi) 1 lb: C

This is Starwest's nitrogen-flushed double wall silverfoil pack. Generally used as a strong decoction or food additive. Confirming much of what the classical treatise on Chinese herbal medicine, the Shen Nung Pen Tsao Ching, says, modern Chinese research suggests that lignans, found in the seeds of schisandra berries, regenerate liver tissue damaged by harmful influences such as viral hepatitis and alcohol. Lignans lower blood levels of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), a marker for infective hepatitis and other liver disorders. Schisandra fruit may also have an adaptogenic action, much like the herb ginseng, but with weaker effects. Laboratory work suggests that schisandra may improve work performance, build strength, and help to reduce fatigue. Nutrition Science News: 1/2001: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), schisandra berries have been used predominantly for the lungs and kidneys as an astringent tonic to arrest mucous discharges, alleviate spontaneous sweating and check urinary and reproductive secretions such as in urinary incontinence and spermatorrhea, an involuntary loss of semen. More recently, the focus of schisandra research has been on its use in treating diabetes mellitus. Additionally, a protective effect on cardiovascular tissue insulted with chemical agents or ischemia has also been shown in vivo. As well, anti-inflammatory activity has been reported in in vitro, animal models, and clinical studies. The most important area, however, is in treating liver damage in conditions such as hepatitis. Schisandra is included in the pharmacopoeias of China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Russia, places where the plant grows naturally. Pharmacological research on schisandra has been conducted since the 1950s, when it was reported to exhibit central nervous system stimulatory activity, enhance mental and physical capacities and improve cardiovascular function. These studies, mostly conducted in the former Soviet Union, characterize schisandra as an adaptogen and resulted in its popular use as a tonic. Protects The Liver In China, crude schisandra berries, their preparations, and individual constituents are widely used for progressive hepatic degeneration due to viral hepatitis or chemical challenge—indications for which schisandra is well documented. In the 1970s, trials in China on patients with hepatitis resulting from either viral infection or chemical exposure reported schisandra preparations lowered elevated levels of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), an enzyme found primarily in the liver that is released into the bloodstream as the result of liver damage. This research focused on the antihepatotoxic effects of lignans isolated from the unhydrolyzed fraction of the seed oil. At least 13 of these lignans have been reported to enhance the hepatic glutathione antioxidant system and have been reported to be beneficial in treating viral- and chemical-induced hepatitis and liver