Description

Schisandra chinensis, the five-flavour berry, is a deciduous, aromatic, woody vine of the family Schisandraceae, native to the montane deciduous forests of northeastern China — Manchuria — and the Russian Far East (Khabarovsk, Primorsky Krai). The plant produces clusters of small, bright red, fleshy berries that uniquely exhibit all five fundamental tastes of traditional Chinese medicine: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty — giving rise to the name Wu Wei Zi (five-flavour fruit). Documented in the Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer’s Classic) — one of the foundational texts of traditional Chinese medicine — the berries have been continuously incorporated in formulations for respiratory conditions, liver protection, cognitive function, and adaptogenic stress management for over two thousand years. Schisandra extract is formally listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and is globally traded as a botanical adaptogen.