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= Schisandra chinensis =

Pharmacological properties
Schisandra chinensis has not only been used as food but also as medicine. In Chinese medicine Schisandra chinensis has been used to relieve cough and asthma, resolve sputum, treat spontaneous and night sweating, chronic diarrhea and neurasthenia. But not only in China this crop has been used as a natural remedy. Since the early 1960s S. chinensis has been used in the official medicine of the USSR. Studies on animals have shown that S. chinensis can increase physical working capacity and provide a stress-protective effect against a broad spectrum of harmful factors including heat shock, skin burn, cooling, frostbite, immobilisation, swimming under load in an atmosphere with decreased air pressure, aseptic inflammation, irradiation, and heavy metal intoxication. Studies from the former USSR documented a broad variety of pharmacological effects of S. chinensis. In healthy subjects S. chinensis can increase endurance and the accuracy of movement, mental performance and working capacity, and generates alterations in the basal levels of nitric oxide and cortisol in blood and saliva with subsequent effects on the blood cells, vessels and central nervous system.

The plant is considered to have various compounds with antimicrobial, antioxidative, anti-proliferative, and anti-cancer activity. Due to these activities Schisandra chinensis is an promising crop and very interesting for future research. The fruit of Schisandra chinensis contains about 1.5% sugars, tannins, colour substances and about 3% of essential oils, organic acids, vitamin C and E, and metals such as copper, manganese, nickel and zinc.

The dominant secondary metabolite components in the berries of S. chinesis are the dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, which are often called “Schisandra lignans”. Fruit maturity, harvest time, the habitat and its location influence the amount of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans. Normally they contribute to around 4-19 % dry weigth.

Use in cosmetics
Schisandra chinensis and its derivates can suppress skin photoaging, ameliorate sarcopenia and osteoarthritis. It is considered to increase physical endurance, inhibit stress-induced premature senescence and improve other effects that can be associated with aging. Extracts from S. chinensis are being used in cosmetics to purify and strengthen the protective barrier of the skin and to soothe irritations. BASF Beauty Care Solutions patented an extract from S. chinensis for cosmetic purposes.