Cornus officinalis.   山 茱 萸 Shān yū roú,  Shan zhu yu   Cornelian cherry, Dogwood fruit  Family: Cornaceae      
Nature- slightly warm   FLAVOR: Sour, harsh, astringent. CHANNEL: Liver, Kidney
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Astringent
1. Supplements the Liver and Kidney.[1]
2. Supplement the essence and improve visual acuity.
3. Astringe and preserve essence. Controls sperm ejaculation.[1]
4. Controls excessive perspiration.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Liver and Kidney Deficiency manifested as: soreness of the lower back and knees.[1] Flaccidity of lower limbs. Impotence and seminal emission.[1] Frequent micturition.[1] Enuresis. Night sweats,[1] and Spontaneous sweating. Metrorrhagia.[1] Menorrhagia. Dizziness and tinnitus.[1] Blurring of vision. Dyspnea of hyperactive type
PATENT COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Dried ripe fruit pulp  6-12 g, up to 30 g.[3]  15-30 g.[1]
HABITAT: Grows in hillside thickets or cultivated.
DESCRIPTION: Small deciduous shrub. Bark of branches greyish-brown. Leaves; single, opposite, elliptical, apexes narrowly acute, bases rounded or broadly cuneate, back surfaces covered by white shaggy hairs, rib-axils tomentose, margins complete, with short petioles. Flowers; in early summer, appearing before leaves, yellow, clustered terminally on small branches, umbellate inflorescence.  Drupe; elliptical-round, turning red when ripe, the skin is wrinkled after being dried.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

A substance isolated from Cornus officinalis enhances the motility of human sperm.
Jeng H, Wu CM, Su SJ, Chang WC.
Abstract
The effects of a Chinese herb, Cornus officinalis, on the motility of human sperm was studied. An aqueous extract was prepared from the dried fruits of the herb and used in this study. The crude extract at a final concentration of 0.5 microgram/microliter in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) increased sperm motility from 25.8 +/- 7.7% to 42.8 +/- 10.3% (i.e. 68% increase, n = 7), as determined by the computer-aided-sperm-analysis (CASA) method. The crude extract was fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) into four fractions: C1, C2, C3 and C4. Their effects on sperm motility were further studied by CASA. Only the C4 fraction showed substantial stimulatory effects on sperm motility. At a concentration of 5 ng/microliter, C4 increased the sperm motility from 15.7 +/- 3.8% to 34.5 +/- 6.4% (i.e. 120% increase, n = 6) by CASA and from 14.9 +/- 4.3 to 28.5 +/- 8.1 (i.e. 91% increase, n = 8) by transmembrane migration ratio (TMMR) method. This result suggests that C4 is the active component in Cornus officinalis that enhances sperm motility.
Am J Chin Med. 1997;25(3-4):301-6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov The inhibitory effect of the components of Cornus officinalis on melanogenesis.
Nawa Y, Endo J, Ohta T.
Abstract
Five known compounds were isolated from a Cornus officinalis 50% ethanol extract (C. officinalis extract) and a hot water extract. We investigated the photochemical and pharmacological active compounds of C. officinalis hot water extract and ethanol extract. We understood that C. officinalis is a medicinal plant with potent free-radical-scavenging activity not only against reactive oxygen species (H(2)O(2), superoxiside anion, hydroxyl radical, etc.) in a narrow sense, but also against many other free radicals (peroxynitrate, peroxyradical). It is estimated that the reduction effect with C. officinalis extract can block oxidative reaction on melanogenesis. Loganin and cornuside, the components in C. officinalis, showed a significant free-radical-scavenging activity and inhibitory effects on melanogenesis. We report to prove the inhibitory effect of UVB-induced pigmentation in C. officinalis extract through its radical scavenging activity .J Cosmet Sci. 2007 Sep-Oct;58(5):505-17. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cornus officinalis Methanol Extract Upregulates Melanogenesis in Melan-a Cells.
An YA, Hwang JY, Lee JS2, Kim YC.
Abstract
Cornus officinalis is widely distributed in Korea, and its fruit has been used to make as herbal drug for traditional medicine in Korea, Japan, and China because of its tonic, analgesic, and diuretic properties. However, the effects of C. officinalis methanol extract (COME) on melanogenesis remain poorly understood. We evaluated the melanogenic capability of COME in melan-a cells, which are immortalized mouse melanocytes. COME increased melanin synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with 12.5 μg/mL of COME significantly increased melanin content by 36.1% (p < 0.001) to a level even higher than that (31.6%) of 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine, a well-known pigmentation agent. COME also upregulated tyrosinase activity and its messenger RNA and protein expression. In addition, COME upregulated the expression of tyrosinase-related proteins 1 and 2 and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-M messenger RNA expression. These results imply that COME may be appropriate for development as a natural product to treat hair graying.
Toxicol Res. 2015 Jun;31(2):165-72. doi: 10.5487/TR.2015.31.2.165. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Corni Fructus: a review of chemical constituents and pharmacological activities
Yu Dong, Zhe-Ling Feng, Hu-Biao Chen, Fu-Sheng Wang & Jia-Hong Lu
Abstract
Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. is part of the genus Cornus of the family Cornaceae. Ripening and dry fruits (Corni Fructus) are recognized as an essential herb medicine in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have been widely used for over 2000 years. This review provides a comprehensive summary of Corni Fructus (CF), including the botany, phytochemistry, traditional use, and current pharmacological activities. According to the basic theory of TCM, CF usually participates in various Chinese medicinal formulae to exert the essential roles in replenishing liver and kidney, arresting seminal emission and sweat. Based on modern pharmacological studies, about 90 compounds have been isolated and identified from CF. In vivo and in vitro experimental studies indicate that CF exhibits extensive pharmacological activities including hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective activities. However, only about 18% of chemical constituents in CF were tested. It means the potential pharmacological activities and clinical values of CF need to be further investigated.Chinese Medicinevolume 13, Article number: 34 (2018) cmjournal.biomedcentral.com

Growth inhibitory effects of Cornus officinalis on a model for triple negative breast cancer
NT Telang, HB Nair and GYC Wong
Abstract
Background: The triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) molecular subtype is characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor-α (ER-α), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) expressions. TNBC is refractory to endocrine and to HER-2 selective therapy, while options for the treatment of choice involving high dose Anthracyclin/Taxol based conventional chemotherapy and/or small molecule inhibitor based targeted therapy are associated with systemic toxicity and acquired tumor resistance, leading to compromised efficacy. These limitations emphasize a need to identify efficacious non-toxic agents for secondary prevention/therapy of TNBC. Cornus officinalis (CO) is a Chinese herb of a nutritional nature in the form of a fruit. It is a major ingredient herb in some well-known Chinese herbal formulations for health management purposes. Growth inhibitory efficacy of CO in a model for ER positive Luminal A molecular subtype of clinical breast cancer is associated with abrogation of estradiol promoted growth via generation of anti-proliferative estradiol metabolites [Telang et al: Mol. Med. Rep. 5: 20-28, 2012].The present study examines the growth inhibitory effects of CO, and identifies possible molecular targets for its efficacy in a pre-clinical cell culture model for TNBC.
Experimental model, Herbal Extract and Biomarkers: The human mammary carcinoma-derived ER-α negative, PR negative and HER-2 negative MDA-MB-231 cell line represents the model for TNBC. Non-fractionated aqueous extract from CO represents the test agent. Anchorage dependent growth, anchorage independent (AI) colony formation, cell cycle progression, cellular apoptosis and relevant pathway specific mechanistic assays represent the biomarkers for efficacy.
Results: Treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with CO extract induces substantial dose dependent cytostatic growth arrest (IC50:0.1%; IC90:0.5%), and strongly inhibits AI colony formation. Within the cytostatic range CO inhibits G1 to S phase transition leading to G1 arrest that is accompanied by decreased expressions of Cyclin D1 and p-RB. Cellular apoptosis induced by CO is associated with modulation of the BAX-BCL-2 pathway, and up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic Caspase 3/7 activity.
Conclusions: These data provide a mechanistic evidence for efficacy of CO as a naturally occurring nutritional substance in a cell culture model for TNBC. The present study validates a mechanism based approach to prioritize efficacious non-toxic herbal extracts for secondary prevention/therapy of the TNBC molecular subtype of clinical breast cancer. Poster Session Abstracts
Abstract P3-09-04: Abstracts: Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; December 8-12, 2015; San Antonio, TX DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.SABCS15-P3-09-04 Published February 2016
cancerres.aacrjournals.org

New Iridoid Derivatives from the Fruits of Cornus officinalis and Their Neuroprotective Activities
Lin-lin Ji, Xin Wang, Jin-jie LiOrcID, Xiang-jian Zhong, Bo Zhang, Jing Juan and Xiao-ya Shang *
Abstract
Three previously undescribed iridoids, cornusfurals A–C, were isolated from the ethanolic extracts of fruits of Cornus officinalis. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. The neuroprotective activity was evaluated by measuring corticosterone-induced damage in PC12 cells. The results showed that cornusfural B decreased corticosterone-induced PC12 cell damage compared with that in model cells. Molecules 2019, 24(3), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24030625 Published: 11 February 2019
mdpi.com