Schisandra Chinensis (Wu wei zi)

[Guest guest]

Wiseweeds gave me permission to forward this over. I'm forwarding the entire

newsletter as it has information that will be useful later on. But today, I want

you to pay special attention to the section on the herb Wu wei zi (Schisandra

chinensis).

 

Remember the previous post on Chinese Food Cures and how the Chinese consider a

balanced meal to be one which contains all 5 flavors - spicy (pungent), salty,

sweet, bitter, and sour? Schisandra is one of the few herbs that contain all 5

flavors. For this reason the herb is highly regarded by the Chinese. The

translation of Wu wei zi is Five-Flavor Seed (Fruit).

 

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DATE: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 17:52:06

Catherine Novak <cnovak

" wiseweeds " <wiseweeds >

 

Catherine Novak <cnovak

 

Wise Weeds HerbsOils Newsletter #6

February 17, 2000

 

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IN THIS ISSUE:

WILD FOODS: Dandelion Blossoms

MATERIA MEDICA--Schisandra Chinensis, Five Tastes Berry

RECIPE--Using Adaptogenic Herbs as Miso Soup Base

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WILD FOODS: Dandelion Blossoms

By Catherine Novak

 

Spring is the time for wild foods foraging. Years ago, before

refrigeration,

before supermarkets that carried fruits and vegetables from around the

world,

many people searched for the first greens of spring to supplement their

winter diet.

 

Years ago Euell Gibbons popularized wild foods foraging with books such

as " Stalking

the Wild Asparagus " and " Stalking the Healthful Herbs. " Two more modern

books that

I really enjoy are " Wildman " Steve Brill's " Identifying and Harvesting

Edible and

Medicinal Plants " and Billy Joe Tatum's " Wild Foods Field Guide and

Cookbook. "

 

I especially like the line drawings of plants in Brill's book. While

many people will

say Peterson's field guides are THE books to use to identify plants,

often having a

detailed drawing makes identifying an herb easier than just looking at a

photograph.

Plus Brill gives many recipes for preparing culinary wild foods

masterpieces.

 

During the Spring I enjoy feeding myself and my family batter-dipped,

fried dandelion

blossoms over brown rice with a little Dr. Bragg's Liquid Aminos for

flavor (I often

use Dr. Bragg's as a more healthful substitute for soy sauce).

 

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 or 3 dozen dandelion flowers

1/8 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon of Turbinado sugar

1/4 cup of water

1/8 cup olive oil

Dr. Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce to taste

 

1. Beat the egg in a bowl or pie tin, add 1/4 cup of water, slowly beat

in the flour.

This should be a thin batter, like crepe batter. If necessary, add more

water to thin out the mixture.

2. Pour the olive oil into a small frying pan and heat it up until a

drop of the batter in

the oil floats quickly to the top.

3. Dip the flowers into the batter and add them (face down) to the

frying pan. Using tongs

or chop sticks, turn them over to cook the other side once the batter's

light and crusty.

Remove and drain on paper towels.

4. Serve over brown rice. Add Dr. Bragg's to the flowers to taste.

 

Dandelion flowers are a tasty source of betacartone and carotenoids such

as xanathophylls

(found mainly in yellow flowers, green vegetables and egg yolks) which

offer protection

against cancer. According to herbalist Donald Yance, " Carotenoids can

protect phagocytes

from auto-oxidative damage, enchance T and B lymphocyte proliferate

responses, stimulate

effector T cell functions "

 

And you thought they were just weeds.

************************************************

 

MATERIA MEDICA

Schisandra Chinensis (Northern) or S. Splanthera (Southern China), aka

Wu Wei Zi, O Mi Cha or Five Tastes Berry

 

The fruit/berry is the part used. The energy is warm and dry with a

predominantly sour taste, but also including pungent, sweet, salty and

bitter.

 

Meridians affected: Lung, Kidney and Liver

 

Known as an adaptogen, stimulant, antihepatotoxin, circulatory

stimulant, expectorant and antibacterial.

 

Richo Cech at Horizon Herbs

http://www.chatlink.com/~herbseed/ says this perennial woody vine is in

the

Magnoliaceae family and is native to Manchuria, northeastern China and

Japan.

Its pink or white flowers produce bright red fruit in clusters. To grow

this herb

takes extra care. You have to remove seed from fruit, and subject

it to at least two-weeks cold conditioning (by mixing seeds in moist

potting soil

and placing it all in a plastic bag in refrigerator) before planting.

Or, plant in fall

and allow the seeds to naturally cold-condition outdoors. He adds, " This

is a good

candidate for the cold winter or high elevation areas, a plant which

likes to grow in a

cool and moist situation. Provide trellis. Several vines are required

to give good

pollination, in order to produce the berries. "

 

Growing Vines Successfully by Andrew Bunting, gives tips not only on

growing

Schisandra, but many other vining plants.

http://www.bbg.org/gardening/plants/vines/success.html

 

This commercial site has a nice picture of the growing berries.

http://www.pacificrim.net/~pang/berries.html

 

More cultivation notes on growing Schisandra.

http://www.gardenbed.com/s/3567.cfm

 

I've planted some seeds this winter and will tell you if I have any

success with

growing it. It gets pretty hot here in Southeast Virginia during the

summer, so

conditions will be less than ideal, assuming the seeds germinate after

our

somewhat cold winter conditions.

 

USES:

In Traditional , this herb is used to treat

deficient Kidney, deficient Kidney Chi and depletion of jing. These

conditions are characterized by the presence of weak knees and ankles,

incontinence, low sperm count, impotence and frequent urination when

cold.

Five tastes berry is said to " pucker the jing. " This herb has

gained a well-earned reputation as an aphrodisiac as, used in

combination

with other herbs, it relieves sexual fatigue and is known to increase

sexual staying power in men, as well as acting to increase women's

sexual

energies. It's also an herb to think of using when bed-wetting is a

problem.

Schisandra builds wei chi, known as the the defense energy of the body,

 

thereby helping the body better resist infection.

 

Traditionally, taking the berries over the long term helps clear and

improve

the skin, beautifying it and protecting it from the ravages of sun and

wind.

" Wu Wei Tza drives out " false fire " Ch'i (anger and neck-shoulder

tension)

from the body, " says Ron Teeguarden, author of " Chinese Tonic Herbs. "

 

Primarily used to revitalize someone who is depleted, tired, fatigued.

Schisandra will help balance out the Central Nervous System. This herb

is

especially good for Chronic Fatigue, lung problems (that is, a specific

type

of asthma where the Chinese Kidney grasps

Lung Chi--where someone's always gasping for breath. Schisandra

helps relieve allergic asthma as well.

 

Helpful for people who sweat profusely and for night sweats, this herb

is assists in restoring balance to the body in cases of HIV, where

someone

has diarrhea from what is known in TCM as deficient Spleen. This type of

 

diarrhea occurs when someone gets up in the morning.

 

As an anti-hepatotoxin, helping protect the liver from toxins,

Schisandra

can help treat chronic (NOT acute) hepatitis. Avoid using this herb when

the

liver is inflamed. When elevated enzymes damage the liver, Schisandra

helps

normalize function and aid the liver in repairing itself. It rebuilds

damaged

liver tissue and is appropriate to use in conjunction with Milk Thistle

Seed extract

or an extract made from fresh Tumeric root.

 

Why is the protection of the liver important? As the largest organ in

our bodies,

the liver processes everything we take in, whether it comes from food,

the air that we

breathe or anything present on our skin. The liver detoxifies

substances that

harm and stess our bodies, including chemicals in our environment and

any drugs

we take, whether recreational, prescribed or over-the-counter.

Allergies and other

immune-suppressent conditions often develop when the liver is

overwhelmed by

toxins and our adrenal glands are overtaxed by stress. By supporting

liver function,

we can help our bodies stay in balance.

 

MotherNature.com gives some information on the herb's constituents.

 

" Active constituents: Schisandra contains a number of compounds,

including

essential oils, numerous acids, and lignans. Lignans (schizandrin,

deoxyschizandrin,

gomisins, and pregomisin)are found in the seeds of the fruit and have a

number of

medicinal actions. Modern Chinese research suggests that lignans

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. "

http://www.mothernature.com/ency/Herb/Schisandra.asp

 

A brief abstract about vines grown in Europe and their lignan content.

http://www.med.muni.cz/~jslanina/p-med-en.html

 

Glycogen is stored by the liver. Schisandra increases the body's ability

 

to break down and use glycogen.

 

When people have disturbed shen-- insomnia (Yin insomnia) agitation--

they may be so depleted that they don't have the energy to sleep.

Schisandra is a good herb to use in this situation.

 

Five-tastes berry stimulates circulation, strengthens the heart beat and

 

lowers blood pressure. As an antibacterial, it inhibits bacteria

growth-- of micobacteria, B. bacillus, Staph and Typhoid.

 

This herb helps improve work performance and concentration. Heavy

athletes may benefit from using Schisandra.

 

Dosage: 1 teaspoon of berries steeped for 45 minutes in 8 oz. of water,

two cups per day.

Extract: 1:5 at 60 percent alcohol. Take 20 to 30 drops, three to four

times per day (more if necessary)

 

CONTRAINDICATED (do not use): Be careful with people who get easily

stimulated. People like this should only take Schisandra in the morning.

 

In cases of External Pernicious Influences with True Heat, some people

may experience digestive upset as this herb may reduce gastric

secretions.

 

 

This commercial site presents a good overview of Schisandra and

the roles adaptogens play in health.

http://health-business.com/vb-03.html

 

*******************************************************

RECIPE--Using Adaptogenic Herbs as Miso Soup Base

 

I like to use Schisandra in combination with Astragalus, Siberian

Ginseng

and Shittake mushrooms. I grind all of the herbs up (the Siberian

Ginseng

I use is already powdered) and mix them. I then add two or three

tablespoons of the blend to a two-quart pot of water and let it simmer

overnight on our woodstove. You can also use a ceramic crockpot if

you want to do something similar but don't have a woodstove.

 

Do watch out as cooking the fruit longer than 45 minutes will release

more of its tannins. This brew will be provide more tannic " pucker "

the longer you cook it. The miso generally tones down this effect.

 

Taking a couple of cups of this broth, I use it as the base for a

morning

bowl of miso soup with silken tofu. I'll crumble about two tablespoons

of Kombu seaweed in the broth and set it in a small pan on top of the

woodstove to simmer for about 20 minutes. Then I take about a tablespoon

 

of miso, add it to the broth in a small pan, spoon some silken tofu

into the pan and return it to the stove to warm up in about 10 minutes.

Then I chop up a green onion, add it to the soup bowl and have

my soup.

 

To make this an even more filling dish, you can add a half cup of brown

rice to your soup bowl.

 

I've found that consistently using this soup has helped increase my

overall

energy levels as well as balanced out mood swings (with the additional

use of skullcap in water taken separately when needed).

 

The broth itself is quite palatable even without using it as miso soup

base. I've drunk it by the cupful as a strong infusion, slipped it into

stews or stuffing and nobody's been the wiser in my family. But

when I want to make sure my 5-year-old son gets a helping, I

often just put it in a cup and tell him to drink it. As he's grown up

with herbs, this is not unusual for him. Other kids might have a harder

time with this.

--Catherine Novak

******************************************************

Editor and herbalist Catherine Novak is available for herbal and

aromatherapy consultations, classes, lectures and more. Please e-mail

her for more information.

 

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Copyright ) 2000 Wise Weeds and Catherine Novak

e-mail: cnovak

Wise Weeds, Catherine Novak, P.O. Box 5111, Portsmouth, VA 23703

USA; Phone (Country code: 001) 757-484-5584

 

 

 

 

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The information in this post should not replace advice given by your medical

practitioner.

 

 

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