Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) is an herb you may have never heard of, but it has a long history, and has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years as a longevity tonic, to enhance beauty, and to increase sexual potency. In the West, it is known as a powerful adaptogen, helping us to resist stress, combat fatigue, and increase mental and physical performance.
Schisandra’s beneficial effect on the adrenal glands, where it helps lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol, marks it as an adaptogen. Adaptogens are herbs and fungi that help to naturally balance hormones and increase the body’s ability to handle stress, both external and internal. They also help the body return to a state of homeostasis, or equilibrium. Adaptogenic herbs have been used for thousands of years to naturally raise our resistance to stress, from emotional trauma to toxic chemicals. Adaptogens also combat anxiety, relieve fatigue, and help us achieve an overall sense of well-being.
A review published in Current Clinical Pharmacology affirmed schisandra’s protective effects against stress. The review found that schisandra increased endurance and mental performance in patients with mild fatigue and weakness, and stated that adaptogens increase tolerance to mental exhaustion as well as enhancing attention and mental endurance in situations of decreased performance. It goes on to say that the beneficial stress-protective effect of adaptogens is their ability to regulate homeostasis.
A study published in Drug Target Insights looked at the effect of adaptogenic herbs that included panax ginseng, rhodiola, and schisandra to evaluate how they would affect the stress response in rabbits. The study tested blood levels of stress activated nitric oxide, kinase, and cortisol. Two groups of animals were tested over a seven day period, one group receiving the adaptogenic herbs and the other receiving a placebo. After acute stress, the animals in the placebo group had levels of nitric oxide and cortisol that had increased by 200-300 percent. In the group receiving the stress-protective adaptogenic herbs, their blood levels of nitric oxide and cortisol remained practically unchanged after acute stress was induced.
Schisandra is perhaps most famous for its protective effects on the liver.
A study in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy published in 2018 set out to study the hepatoprotective abilities of schisandra. The researchers discovered that the lignans and crude polysaccharides in schisandra significantly reduced the destruction of the liver tissue by ethanol in mice. They stated that the mechanism underlying schisandra’s hepatoprotective abilities may lie in its ability to inhibit the expression of CYP2E1 protein (associated with oxidative stress and alcoholic liver injury), as well as alleviating oxidative stress induced by the ethanol form of alcohol contained in beverages including beer, wine, and liquor.
In a study from Phytochemistry in 2015, researchers found that lignans isolated from schisandra fruit were found to have potent anti-hepatitis B activity. Lignans are polyphenols found in plants, mostly whole grains, cruciferous vegetables, sesame seeds, and flax seeds. Lignans have been shown to potentially have anti-cancer properties, especially against breast and prostate cancer.
Schisandra has even been found to be beneficial in those who have received liver transplants. Tacrolimus, or tac is extensively used to prevent rejection of the new organ after a transplant. Organ transplants are complex as the antigens from the organ donor elicit an immune response in the recipient, which can destroy the organ if not controlled. This whole process is called allograft rejection.
A controlled clinical trial published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2010 found that schisandra extract increased concentrations of tacrolimus in the blood of liver transplant patients, improved their liver function, and reduced the side effects of elevated tac levels, like diarrhea and agitation. In other words, the extract increased the drug’s effectiveness and reduced its side effects.
Schisandra is also being studied for its ability to prevent age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Various studies have demonstrated schisandra’s cognitive enhancing effects through animal tests and clinical trials.
A study from 2013 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology set out to investigate the effects of extracts of schisandra fruit (a red berry) on neurotoxicity and memory impairment in mice. The mice were injected with amyloid beta 1-42—which is present in cerebrospinal fluid (CFS), and is a widely accepted key biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study concluded that oral treatment with schisandra fruit extract significantly decreased induced memory impairment and had neuroprotective abilities. As a result of their findings, the researchers concluded that schisandra fruit extracts—with their abundant lignans—could be useful in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurological diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide and effective therapeutic drugs and therapies are very limited. With rising rates of neurological issues among the population, there is much interest in finding new ways to treat neurological disorders. A review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences in 2018 found that the dry, ripe schisandra berries exert a protective effect against neurodegenerative diseases by reducing injury associated with oxidative stress, apoptosis (programmed cell death), inflammation, and neurotransmitter disorders. The review highlighted the lignans found in the berries.
In Chinese medicine, schisandra is called Wu Wei Zi and is known as ‘five flavor berry’ wu (五, “five”) wei (味, “flavor”) zi (子, “seed or fruit”), as it contains all five flavors–sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent. Because it contains all five flavors, it is seen to benefit all five of the yin organs in Chinese medicine–spleen, liver, heart, kidneys, and the lungs, respectively.
The first known recorded use of schisandra is from the “Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing,” or “Divine Husbandman’s Classic Materia Medica”–a Chinese herbal medicine text that dates back to the Han Dynasty that ruled China from 25-220 AD.
Known as a longevity tonic and one of the great anti-aging herbs, schisandra was said to “prolong life without aging.” With regular use it was thought to enhance beauty (because of its ability to benefit the skin) and increase sexual potency. Schisandra was also used to increase energy, treat chronic cough, asthma, fatigue, diarrhea, dream disturbed sleep, insomnia, palpitations, calm the spirit, and treat anxiety. It was also known for its abilities to protect and cleanse the liver.
Although schisandra is a well-established medicinal herb in Chinese medicine, it gained recognition for its adaptogenic properties in the former USSR in the early 1960s, mainly due to considerable pharmacological and clinical studies by Russian scientists in the preceding two decades. As a result, schisandra was included as medicine in the National Pharmacopoeia of the USSR and in the State register of Drugs.
A review in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology details the considerable diversity of the pharmacological effects of schisandra which have been confirmed from over forty years of use as an official medicinal remedy in Russia. For example, animal studies have shown that schisandra increases physical working capacity and has a stress-protective effect against a broad range of harmful factors. Schisandra’s adaptogenic properties affect the central nervous, sympathetic, endocrine, immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems, the development of atherosclerosis, and blood sugar and acid-base balance. The review also states that schisandra has strong antioxidant properties, increases endurance and mental performance, and lowers levels of stress hormones in the blood and saliva. Clinical trials have demonstrated schisandra’s effectiveness in both neurologic and psychiatric disorders.
Although schisandra is native to China and Japan, it can be easily found at many health food stores or online, and can be bought as a tincture, powder, or in capsules. Buy organic when possible as this will at least minimize exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides. Remember to look at where the herb is grown and sourced keeping in mind that laws and regulations for growing and processing herbs vary by country.
Always be careful when considering taking a new herb, especially if you are on medication. If you would like to take schisandra and are presently taking medications, it is best to consult with a health care practitioner you trust first to make sure there won’t be any interactions. When starting a new herb or supplement, start slowly with low dosages and work your way up, tracking how you feel.