In East Asia, there is a 2000-year-old tradition of using schisandra fruit as an adaptogen. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the Schisandra berry is considered the most effective natural remedy. The fruits are not usually used monotherapeutically but as a mixture with other drugs in formulations. There are no official monographs for Schisandra chinensis, the Chinese split berry, in Europe, but there are in Chinese and Japanese pharmacopoeias. The Chinese pharmacopoeia records the dried, ripe fruits of two botanical species (Schisandra chinensis and Schisandra sphenanthera) under the common name "Wuweizi".
Schisandra chinensis contains mainly lignans such as schisandrol A (syn: gomisin A, schizandrol A) schisantherin A, deoxyschisandrin, schisandrin B and schisandrin C. Furthermore, various Polysaccharides with immunostimulating effect, essential oil.