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I think of 五味子 as a lady called Sandra (think: She Sandra). She’s warm, very nurturing but easily turns sour. As a chinese medicinal herb, she’s well known as an astringent (think: sour). Because she is able to tauten surfaces, in the olden days, we imagine her:

1. Tautening the lungs in the case of breathing difficulty and emphysema.
2. Holding in your sperm in the case of spermatorrhea.
3. Controlling diarrhea.
4. Preventing excessive sweating.

I don’t know if the astringent property of the herb actually does any of the above. However, I think it would be useful to discuss these from the angle of tonification (remember that Sandra is very nurturing?)

Nervous System:

Schisandrin (五味子素) extract very clearly is sedative (Source: 重要药理学， 高等教育出版社).

1. It has synergistic effect on pentobarbital sodium (戊巴比妥钠), and is antagonistic to “high” of Amphetamine (苯丙胺 aka 去甲麻黄素).
2. Schisandrin A, B and C, together with Schisandrol B can reduce autonomic activity of rats.
3. It can help concentration and reduce memory slowdown in rats.

The sedative property of Schisandra is probably useful in treatment of spermatorrhea and dysfunctional sweating.

Cardiovascular System:

Schisandra powder is able to help the vessels relax:

• dilate vessels, reduce blood pressure.

Schisandra powder helps the heart work easier:

• increase production of RNA in cardiac muscle cells
• increase ATP (腺苷三磷酸) and ALP (碱性磷酸酶) activity, thus increasing metabolism of cardiac muscle cells.

Overall, this boost to the cardiovascular system helps in the regulation of the “liver” function as defined by Chinese Medicine. It will work in tandem with the more relax nervous system to produce a calmer and better you. ; )

Respiratory System:

Schisandra decoction can reduce the amount of mucopolysaccharides (黏多糖) in the airway glands, hence it’s role in reducing mucus production in the case of bronchitis. Schisandrol B also can help rats with chronic bronchitis produce more RNA in bronchial epithelial cells, usually damaged in bronchitis. See Godard and Chanez for more on this.

The Liver:

Here we can link the sour flavor of Schisandra to its liver-protecting properties. The usual proof is a falling of liver enzyme (ALT, AST) levels after application to a liver damage model. Thus, we can infer that hepactye cell death is reduced while fatty liver (steatosis hepatis) and fibrosis is reduced.

Conclusion:

The above “scientific” evidence tells us a little more regarding the pharmacological effects of Schisandra Chinensis. It explains in more tangible terms how the herbs doesn’t really “suck” the lungs in just by being sour, how it doesn’t “contain” your sperm in just by being sour. We also see how this herb is useful in treating “liver” problems in Chinese medicine by virtue of more than just its sour flavor.

The overall feeling about this herb is this: it calms you down while reducing any tension of the respiratory, cardiovascular and hepatic system.

Source: 重要药理学， 高等教育出版社