Family Schisandraceae is composed of two genera
Schisandra and
Kadsura, which are quite different in regard to the used part and medical function. Traditionally, the
fruits of
Schisandra plants were called '
Wuweizi' used as tonic for
neurasthenia,
antitussive, and
sedative agents. The stems and roots of
Kadsura plants, with
names related to 'XueTeng', possess activating
blood circulation and eliminating stasis and are used for the
treatment of
rheumatism, fractures and
irregular menstruation. The dried
fruit of
Schisandra chinensis was recorded in
Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 Edition) as '
Wuweizi', while the dried
fruit of S. sphenanthera was recorded as an official origin of 'Nanwuweizi'. Historically, there was no evidence that the
fruits of
Kadsura plants were substituted as '
Wuweizi' either in ancient
literatures or contemporary
marketing. However, genus
Kadsura is still popularly called 'Nanwuweizi' and
plant K. longipedunculata is regarded as the origin of 'Nanwuweizi', thus this
will cause
confusion as well as misunderstanding of genus
Kadsura. The authors recommended, therefore, the
Chinese name of genus
Kadsura should be 'Lengfantengshu' and K. longipedunculata with the
name of 'Lengfanteng' in order to guarantee the
drug authenticity.