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Cura x Cura

Sang Shen桑椹

Mori Fructus · Mulberry Fruit

Herbs that Tonify the Blood 补血药《新修本草》

Overview

The ripe fruit of the white mulberry, gathered when it has turned purple-black and dried or pressed into a paste. Sweet, slightly sour and cold, it enters Heart, Liver and Kidney, and it is one of the mildest blood-and-yin nourishers in the materia medica — a food as much as a medicine. Its picture of use is the quietly depleted patient: dizziness and tinnitus, poor sleep, hair greying early, a dry mouth and a stool that will not pass for lack of moisture rather than lack of movement. Because it is gentle it is usually taken over time, often as the traditional syrup or paste, rather than in a short course.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet, sour · Cold

Channels

Liver · Kidney

Typical Dosage

9–15 g in decoction
桑椹Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Nourishes yin and supplements bloodDizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, palpitations and poor sleep from Liver-Kidney yin and blood depletion; hair that greys or thins early.
  • Generates fluids and moistens drynessThirst and a dry mouth after fever or in a depleted patient, and dry constipation where the intestines simply lack moisture.
  • Taken as a long, gentle courseTraditionally reduced to a syrup or paste with honey and taken daily. Its mildness is the point — it is used to build slowly rather than to force a change.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Sang Shen

No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Dizziness, tinnitus and blurred vision from yin and blood deficiency
    - Insomnia and palpitations in a depleted patient
    - Premature greying of the hair
    - Thirst, dry mouth and dry constipation

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

AnaemiaInsomniaTinnitusConstipation

Contraindications

Cautions

Cold and moistening, so it loosens the stool: hold off where the Spleen is weak and cold with ongoing loose stools, poor appetite and abdominal fullness. Eaten fresh in quantity the fruit can itself cause abdominal discomfort and diarrhoea, and it stains persistently. Our dispensary data flags no toxicity and no allergy risk, but it is a fruit — anyone who reacts to mulberries as food should not take it as a herb.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: No specific restriction — practitioner judgment applies

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    2. 《中华人民共和国药典》.
    3. Cura x Cura dispensary monograph record.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.