The Zizyphus jujuba tree originated in China where it has been cultivated for several thousand years. Now, the Zizyphus jujuba tree can be found around the globe, including the southwestern part of the United States. The fresh Zizyphus jujuba fruit is highly desired by many cultures and available in Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian stores. Zizyphus jujuba date has long been used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.
Historical use
Zizyphus jujuba is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine
for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety. Zizyphus jujuba is promoted as having a calming effects. In
China, Zizyphus jujuba is known as Suan Zao Ren.
What's in Zizyphus jujuba herb?
A number of compounds are present in Zizyphus jujuba, including saponins, jujubosides and triterpenoic
acids.
Good Night Rx with Zizyphus jujuba extract for sleep

Suggested Use:
Take one capsule of Good Night Rx two to three hours before sleep
on an empty stomach. Good Night Rx does not work as well
when taken with food.
Purchase Good Night Rx or find out the full list of active ingredients
Sedative and sleep
aid
It appears that the saponins in Zizyphus jujuba herb are the main active ingredients in
terms of sedation.
Separation and purification of saponins from Semen
Ziziphus jujuba and their sedative and hypnotic effects.
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2007. College of Food and Bioengineering, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Saponins from Zizyphus jujuba herb were tested on animals and found to have sedative
properties.
Comparison of the sedative and hypnotic effects of
flavonoids, saponins, and polysaccharides extracted from Semen Ziziphus.
Nat Prod Res. 2007. College of Food, South China University of
Technology, Guangzhou, China.
We investigated and compared the sedative and hypnotic effects of three kinds
of compounds, flavonoids, saponins, and polysaccharides. Flavonoids, saponins,
and polysaccharides were extracted from Zizyphus jujuba herb and orally administered to
mice separately. Results show that flavonoids and saponins caused a significant
reduction of walking time and coordinated movement ability of mouse,
significantly prolonged its sleeping time. Comparative analysis showed that
saponins had a more effective sedative and hypnotic function than that of
flavonoids, polysaccharides did not show a sedative and hypnotic effect.
Anti-inflammatory benefit
Anti-inflammatory activity of seed essential oil from Zizyphus jujuba.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2010; Department of Biotechnology, Daegu University,
Kyoungsan, Kyoungbook, Republic of Korea.
This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of essential oil from seeds
of Zizyphus jujuba on TPA-induced skin inflammation in experimental mice.
Exposure of TPA on the ear of the BALB/c mice caused a marked increase in both
ear thickness and skin water content. The ear thickness was measured for TPA-induced
ear was 0.54 mm, as compared to control (0.23 mm). Treatment with 1% and 10% of
essential oil caused significant decrease in ear thicknesses which were measured
to be 0.30 and 0.35 mm, as well as reduce the water content about 51% and 53% in
the TPA-induced skin inflammation model, respectively. Furthermore, histological
analysis clearly confirmed that Z. jujuba essential oil inhibited the
inflammatory responses of skin inflammation in animal model. Therefore, our
findings demonstrate that the essential oil of Z. jujuba seeds might accelerate
the development of new drugs for various inflammatory diseases.
Zizyphus jujuba as anti cancer agent in
liver cancer
Mechanism of the anti-cancer activity of Zizyphus jujuba in HepG2 cells.
Am J Chin Medicine. Department of Food and Human Health Sciences, Graduate
School of Human Life Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto,
Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan.
We investigated the anti-cancer activity of Zizyphus jujuba herb and its underlining
mechanisms of action in human hepatoma cells (HepG2) and found that Zizyphus
jujuba
extract decreased the viability of the cells. Our findings suggest that Zizyphus
jujuba
extract induced a concentration dependent effect on apoptosis and a differential
cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cells.
Antioxidant benefit,
antimicrobial
Antioxidant and antilisterial effect of seed essential oil and organic extracts
from Zizyphus jujuba.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2009. Al-Reza SM, Bajpai VK, Kang SC. Department
of Biotechnology, Daegu University, Kyoungsan, Kyoungbook, Republic of
Korea; Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Islamic
University, Kushtia, Bangladesh.
Hydrodistilled volatile oil from the seeds of Z. jujuba was analysed. Twenty
three compounds representing 91% of the total oil were identified. The oil and
organic extracts revealed a great potential of antilisterial effect against all
five strains of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, 19116, 19118, 19166 and
15313. Also the oil had strong detrimental effect on the viable count of the
tested bacteria. The results indicate that the essential oil and extracts of Z.
jujuba could serve as natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents for the food
industry.
Constipation
Ziziphus jujuba extract for the treatment of
chronic idiopathic constipation: a controlled clinical trial.
Digestion. 2008. Naftali T, Feingelernt H, Lesin Y, Rauchwarger
A, Konikoff FM. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Meir Medical
Center, Kfar Saba, Israel.
We investigated the safety and efficacy of an extract of Ziziphus jujuba for
chronic constipation. Constipated patients received liquid Ziziphus jujuba or
placebo for 12 weeks. Z. jujuba extract is an effective and safe treatment for
chronic constipation.
Zizyphus jujuba review
Zizyphus jujuba is used in the Orient for its calming effects. This herb does
appear to have some relaxation potential although others herbs such as passion
flower, kava, and supplements such as 5-HTP, tryptophan / serotonin, and theanine are good
options.
Zizyphus jujuba
research
Anti-complementary Activity of Triterpenoides from Fruits of Zizyphus
jujuba.
Biol Pharm Bull. 20046.
In order to determine on the anti-complement activity of triterpenes,
following eleven triterpenoides were isolated from the fruits of the Zizyphus
jujuba: ceanothane-type triterpenes: colubrinic acid, zizyberenalic
acid; lupane-type triterpenes: alphitolic acid, alphitolic acid, betulinic acid, betulonic acid; and oleanane-type triterpenes: maslinic acid, oleanolic acid, oleanonic acid. These
Zizyphus jujuba compounds were examined for their anti-complement
activity against the classical pathway of the complement system. Among them,
some exhibited significant anti-complement activity, whereas the ceanothane-type
and the lupane-type triterpenes were inactive. This suggests that the oleanane-structure
plays an important role in inhibiting the hemolytic activity of human serum
against erythrocytes.
How does Zizyphus jujuba work?
Compounds in the plant, called jujubosides, have inhibitory effects on
glutamate-mediated excitatory signal pathway in the hippocampus and probably
act through their anti- calmodulin action.
Zizyphus jujuba tree information
The Zizyphus jujuba tree probably originated in China where it has been
cultivated for several thousand years. The Zizyphus jujuba tree plants were taken beyond
Asia centuries ago and today grow to some extent in northern Africa,
southern Europe, the Middle East and southwestern United States. The Zizyphus
jujube tree provides the Zizyphus jujuba date which is
actually tasty. The Zizyphus jujube date taste is a cross between an apple and a date.
The Zizyphus jujube fruit can be made into candy. We do not know if Zizyphus
jujube tree seed has
medicinal benefits.
Zizyphus jujuba questions
A few years ago I used to purchase Zizyphus jujube Fruit in capsule form. The health
food store I purchased it at is no longer in business. Do you know where I can
get Zizyphus jujube fruit in capsule form? I would give this to my son as a mild
laxative. It worked wonderful.
Zizyphus jujube fruit extract products in capsule form can be found
online if you do a jujube supplement search.
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