Schisandra sphenanthera

Background

Beiwuwei ±±Îåζ Chinese Name (pinyin): Wuweizi

Chinese Name  :

Common Name  :Schisandra Fruit

Specific Name  : Fructus schisandrae

Scientific Name:
Collection  : The drug is collected in autumn when ripe, dried in the sun or after steamed, remove from stalk and foreign matter.

Description  : Fruit of Schisandra Chinensis: Irregularly spheroidal or compressed spheroidal, 5 - 8mm in diameter. Externally red, purplish red or dull red, shrunken, oily with soft pulp, sometimes externally blackish red or covered with "white frost". Seeds 1 - 2, reniform, externally brownish yellow, lustrous, testa thin and fragile. Odour of pulp alight, taste sour, odour of seeds, aromatic on crushing, Taste pungent and slightly bitter.Fruit of Schisandra Sphenanthera: Relatively small, externally brownish red to dark brown, shrunken and shivelled, pulp usually close adhered to seeds.

Identification  : 1. Transverse section: Fruit of Schisandra Chinensis, Pericarp consisting of 1 layer of square or rectangular epidermal cells, walls relatively thickened, covered with cuticle, oil cells scattered, mesocarp consisting of 10 or more layers of parenchymatous cells containing starch granules, scattered with a small collateral vascular bundles, endocarp consisting of 1 layer of small square parenchymatous cells. The most outer layer of testa consisting of radially elongated stone cells, thick walled with fine and close pits and pit canal, beneath showing several layers of stone cells, subrounded, triangular or polygonal with large pits, underneath the stone cell layers occurring a few layers of parenchymatous cells, raphe having vascular bundles, oil cell layer consisting of 1 layer of rectangular oil cells containing yellowish brown volatile oil, with 3 - 5 layers of small cells lying below, inner epidermal cells of testa small, slightly thick walled, endosperm cells containiung oil droplets and aleurone grains.Powder: Dark purple, stone cells of epidermis of testa polygonal or elongated-polygonal in surface view, 18 - 50µm in diameter, walls thickened with very fineand close pit canals, lumina conatining dark brown contents. Stone cells of the inner layers of testa polygonal, subrounded or irregular up to 83µm in diameter. Walls slightly thickeened with relatively large pits. Epidermal cells of pericarp polygonal in surface view, anticlinal walls slightly beaded with cuticle striations, scattered with oil cells. Cells of mesocarp shrivelled, containing dark brown contents and starch granules.2.To 1g of the powder add 20ml of chloroform, heat under reflux on a water bath for 0.5 hour, filter, evaporate the filtrate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in 1ml of chloroform as the test solution. Produced a solution of fructus Schisandrae reference drug solution in the same manner as the reference drug solution. Dissolve schisandrin A CRS in chloroform to produce a solution containing 1mg per ml as the reference solution. Carry out the method for thin layer chromatography (Appendix Vl B) using silica gel GF254 as the coating substance and the upper layer of petroleum ether (30 - 60ºC)-ethyl formate-formic acid (15:5:1) as the mobile phase. Apply separately to the plate 2µl of each of the two solutions. After developing and removal of the plate, dry it in the air, examine under ultra violet light (254nm). The spots in the chromatogram obtained with the test solution correspond in position and color to the spots in the chromatogram obtained with the reference solution.Foreign matter: not more than 1%

Processing  : Eliminate foreign matter. Break to pieces before use.Processed with vinegar: steamed as describe under the method for steaming with vinegar (Appendix ll D) until the drug becomes black in color, break to pieces before use.

Action  : To arrest discharges, replenish qi, promote fluid secretion, tonify the kidney, and induce sedation.

Indication  : chronic cough and asthma; nocturnal emission, spermatorrhea; enuresis, frequent urination; protracted diarrhea; spontaneous sweating, night sweats; impairment of body fluid with thirst, shortness of breath and feeble pulse; diabetes caused by internal heat; palpitation and insomnia

Precautions  :

Dosage  : 1.5 to 6 g.

Storage  : Preserve in a ventilated and dry place, protected from mould.

Evidence or the Use of Schisandra sphenanthera in the Treatment of Epilepesy

1st Five Results: pubmed search

Junfeng Zhu, Like Zhong, Yu Song, Haiying Ding, Wenxiu Xin, Gaoqi Xu, Luo Fang
Exploring the effect of Wuzhi capsule on the pharmacokinetics of regorafenib and its main metabolites in rat plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
J Sep Sci: 2024, 47(5);e2300923
[PubMed:38466147] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Karolina Jafernik, Sara Motyka, Daniela Calina, Javad Sharifi-Rad, Agnieszka Szopa
Comprehensive review of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans from the Schisandra genus: anticancer potential, mechanistic insights and future prospects in oncology.
Chin Med: 2024, 19(1);17
[PubMed:38267965] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P e)

Ting Hui Woon, Melissa Jia Hui Tan, Yu Heng Kwan, Warren Fong
Evidence of the interactions between immunosuppressive drugs used in autoimmune rheumatic diseases and Chinese herbal medicine: A scoping review.
Complement Ther Med: 2024, 80;103017
[PubMed:38218549] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Qian Wang, Lei Hao, Anqi Zhang, Hongfei Zhao, Bolin Zhang
Extraction and characterization of polysaccharides from Schisandra sphenanthera fruit by Lactobacillus plantarum CICC 23121-assisted fermentation.
Int J Biol Macromol: 2024, 259(Pt 1);129135
[PubMed:38176493] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (I p)

Jingjing Shang, Qian Zhao, Pengdong Yan, Mengdi Sun, Haoxuan Sun, Huizhen Liang, Dezhu Zhang, Zengqiang Qian, Langjun Cui
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Front Plant Sci: 2023, 14;1302417
[PubMed:38162305] [WorldCat.org] [DOI] (P e)