Fu Pen Zi
English Name: rubus, palm-leaf raspberry fruit
Literal Translation: “overturned fruit bowl”
Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Rubi
Medica Category: Astringent Herbs
Properties: Fu Pen Zi enters the Kidney and Liver channels; it is sweet and sour in nature and slightly warm in temperature.
What is Fu Pen Zi?:
The Chinese Herb Fu Pen Zi is the dried fruit of the palm-leaf raspberry (aka Chinese raspberry– Rubus chingii Hu.) and are mainly cultivated in East China (especially in Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces). The ripe fruits are very sweet and are often consumed raw or made into jams, jellies, and other sweet treats; however, it is the unripe fruits that are used medicinally. They are plucked in the early summer, dipped in boiling water, and sun-dried for use as medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Fu Pen Zi:
Fu Pen Zi tonifies the Kidney and consolidates jing (essence) to address Kidney deficiency patterns that involve fluid leakage such as urinary frequency, enuresis, spematorrhea, and nocturnal emissions.
Fu Pen Zi tonifies the Liver and Kidney and nourishes blood and essence to address visual deterioration that presents with blurred vision, diminished visual acuity, dizziness, and trouble seeing at night.
–safety/clinical notes:
Contraindicated for burning dysuria from damp-heat accumulation in the bladder.
Use with caution for persons with heat signs from Kidney yin deficiency.