Schisandra Fruit

Overall Health Benefits of Schisandra Fruit

• Improves symptoms of diabetes and lowers blood sugar levels [1-4]
• Lowers blood pressure [5-6]
• Boosts sexual vitality and improves sexual health [7-9]
• Protects against liver injury [10-11]
• Speeds up wound healing [12-15]
• Improves kidney function [16-18]
• Lowers risk of cardiovascular disease [19-20]
• Prevents muscle wasting [21-25]
• Prevents Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and boosts cognitive function [26-34]
• Prevents cancer [35-36]

How Schisandra Fruit Exerts its Health Benefits

Schisandra fruit is jam-packed with antioxidants, including essential vitamins like vitamins C and E. These components are the key to schisandra fruit’s health benefits. By reducing the levels of free radicals through its antioxidant properties, it also lowers your risk of getting various diseases.

Proven Health Benefits of Schisandra Fruit

Improves Symptoms of Diabetes and Lowers Blood Sugar Levels

Consuming this superfruit can produce beneficial effects on diabetic symptoms as well as blood sugar levels:

1. In a rat model of diabetes, schisandra fruit significantly reduced the blood sugar increase. [1]
2. In diabetic animals, schisandra fruit improved pancreatic functions, stimulated insulin secretion, and reduced complications. [2]
3. In alloxan-induced diabetic mice, administration with ethanol-insoluble residue of schisandra and significantly reduce the blood sugar level. [3]
4. A cell study showed that schisandra fruit extract improved the function of pancreatic cells, which are responsible for the production of insulin (hormone that reduces blood sugar levels). [4]

Lowers Blood Pressure

Studies also support the blood pressure-lowering effects of schisandra fruit:

1. In angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertensive mice, schisandra fruit lowered blood pressure by increasing nitric oxide, a substance that widens blood vessels. [5]
2. A study showed that schisandra extracts such as gominisin can potentially treat hypertension. [6]

Boosts Sexual Vitality and Improves Sexual Health

There’s also increasing evidence supporting the beneficial effects of schisandra fruit on sexual function:

1. In rats, schisandra fruit improved sexual function by reducing the levels of the hormone prolactin. [7]
2. A study showed that schisandra fruit can help treat erectile function in men who do not respond to traditional medications. [8]
3. A study found that schisandra fruit induced relaxation of the smooth muscle tissue of the penis, resulting in increased blood flow and erection. [9]

Protects against Liver Injury

Schisandra fruit is also beneficial to liver health:

1. A study showed that schisandra-fruit derived drugs are effective in inhibiting drug-induced elevation of blood levels of liver enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, and total bilirubin. [10]
2. A study demonstrated that wuzhi tablet (made from schisandra fruit) protected against alcohol-induced liver injury. [11]

Speeds Up Wound Healing

Studies show that schisandra fruit has potent antimicrobial properties necessary for wound healing:

1. A study showed that schisandra extracts have antifungal properties. [12]
2. A study also showed that schisandra extracts have antibacterial properties. [13]
3. In mice, administration with methanol extract of schisandra fruit produced anti-inflammatory effects. [14]
4. In mice with skin inflammation, schisandra fruit extract administration resulted in faster healing. [15]

Improves Kidney Function

Schisandra fruit also has the capacity to protect the kidney against various forms of injury:

1. In male Sprague Dawley rats, schisandra fruit extract administration protected the kidney against injury. [16]
2. A study showed that schisandra fruit protected the kidneys against the toxic effects of carbon tetrachloride. [17]
3. In patients with kidney problems related to carbon tetrachloride toxicity, treatment with schisandra fruit improved kidney function. [18]

Lowers Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Evidence suggests that schisandra fruit can help lower the risk of heart disease through various mechanisms:

1. In mice with high cholesterol levels, oral administration with schisandra fruit for 4 weeks significantly reduced the blood levels of triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) and increased high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol). [19]
2. In mice, schisandra fruit supplementation increased the breakdown of fatty acids. [20]

Prevents Muscle Wasting

Numerous studies found that schisandra fruit can help prevent age-related muscle wasting and those caused by various diseases:

1. In rats, schisandra fruit reversed age-related muscle wasting and bone loss. [21]
2. In mice, schisandra fruit protected against drug-induced muscle wasting through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on muscle fibers. [22-23]
3. In rats with muscle wasting, oral administration of schisandra fruit 14 times over 3 weeks and increased the production of muscle cells and fibers. [24]
4. A study showed that schisandra fruit can help prevent muscle wasting through its antioxidant properties. [25]

Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Boosts Cognitive Function

Schisandra fruit has also been shown to prevent brain disorders and improve cognitive function:

1. In mice, administration with schisandra fruit extract produced antidepressant-like activity by increasing the levels of certain brain chemicals. [26-27]
2. A study showed that schisandra fruit can help improve brain function by suppressing programmed cell death of brain cells, fighting inflammation, and regulating brain chemicals. [28]
3. A study showed that schisandra fruit can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease by protecting the brain cells against programmed cell death. [29]
4. In mice, chronic administration of schisandra fruit significantly reduced the prevalence of behaviors associated with stress. [30]
5. A study showed that schisandra fruit extract can help prevent Parkinson’s disease. [31]
6. A study found that schisandra fruit extract may be a potential therapeutic candidate for AD. [32]
7. In rats with memory impairment, schisandra fruit extract administration resulted in better performance in tests assessing cognitive function. [33]
8. In mice, schisandra fruit treatment for 2 weeks ameliorated cognitive impairment and significantly decreased amyloid beta deposition in the brain, a process necessary for AD development. [34]

Prevents Cancer

There are also a number of high-quality studies supporting the anti-cancer effects of schisandra fruit:

1. A study showed that schisandra fruit can help prevent the growth and reproduction of liver cancer cells. [35]
2. A study also showed that schisandra fruit extract might be an effective chemotherapeutic agent for human gastric cancer. [36]

References:

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2. Nowak A, Zakłos-Szyda M, Błasiak J, Nowak A, Zhang Z, Zhang B. Potential of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. in Human Health and Nutrition: A Review of Current Knowledge and Therapeutic Perspectives. Nutrients. 2019;11(2):333. Published 2019 Feb 4. doi:10.3390/nu11020333
3. Zhao, T., Mao, G., Zhang, M. et al. Anti-diabetic effects of polysaccharides from ethanol-insoluble residue of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill on alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Chem. Res. Chin. Univ. 29, 99–102 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40242-012-2218-9
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5. Young Park J, Wook Yun J, Whan Choi Y, et al. Antihypertensive effect of gomisin A from Schisandra chinensis on angiotensin II-induced hypertension via preservation of nitric oxide bioavailability. Hypertens Res. 2012;35(9):928-934. doi:10.1038/hr.2012.50.
6. Alexander, J., Wang, Y. Therapeutic potential of Schisandra chinensis extracts for treatment of hypertension. Introduction to: ‘Antihypertensive effect of gomisin A from Schisandra chinensis on angiotensin II-induced hypertension via preservation of nitric oxide bioavailability’ by Park et al.. Hypertens Res 35, 892–893 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/hr.2012.101.
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11. Zeng X, Li X, Xu C, et al. Schisandra sphenanthera extract (Wuzhi Tablet) protects against chronic-binge and acute alcohol-induced liver injury by regulating the NRF2-ARE pathway in mice. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B. 2017 Sep;7(5):583-592. DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2017.04.002.
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18. Jiali Li, Siyang Chen, Xiaoling Qin, Qian Fu, Huichang Bi, Yu Zhang, Xueding Wang, Longshan Liu, Changxi Wang and Min Huang. Drug Metabolism and Disposition November 1, 2017, 45 (11) 1114-1119; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.117.076737.
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36. Hyun Sul Kim, Jae Hwa Lee, Hyun Soo Park, Geum San Lee, Hyung Woo Kim, Ki-Tae Ha & Byung Joo Kim (2015) Schizandra chinensis extracts induce apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells via JNK/p38 MAPK activation and the ROS-mediated/mitochondria-dependent pathway, Pharmaceutical Biology, 53:2, 212-219, DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2014.913297.