Fu Pen Zi
StarRubus chingii Hu
☯ TCM Properties
Tonifies the Kidneys and Secures Essence; Secures Essence and Stops Enuresis; Secures Essence and Stops Seminal Emission; Nourishes the Liver and Brightens the Eyes
Traditional Chinese Uses
Fu Pen Zi (raspberry fruit, rubus fruit) is a slightly warm, sweet-sour astringent herb used to tonify Kidney Yang and secure Jing and Essence. It is used for spermatorrhea, urinary frequency, enuresis, and impotence from Kidney deficiency, and its astringent quality is also applied for excessive vaginal discharge. As a fruit-herb available in both food and medicinal forms, it is gentle enough for extended use and is commonly included in formulas targeting Kidney deficiency with abnormal loss of body fluids from the lower body.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Rubus chingii, the Chinese raspberry or Fu Pen Zi, is a deciduous, scrambling, woody shrub in the Rosaceae, native to the hills and forest margins of eastern and southern China and adjacent parts of Japan. The stems are slender, 1.5 to 3 meters long, arching or trailing, with sparse, slightly curved prickles and a glaucous bloom on the young growth. The alternate, simple leaves are nearly circular in outline, 5 to 10 cm across, palmately five-lobed almost to the middle, with sharply doubly serrate margins and palmate venation; both surfaces are nearly glabrous and the petioles bear small prickles. The flowers are solitary, terminal or axillary on short shoots, large for the genus at 2.5 to 4 cm across, with five white, broadly obovate petals around numerous yellow stamens. The fruit is an aggregate of small drupelets forming a hollow, hemispherical, brilliant red to deep orange-red berry about 1.5 cm across; it is harvested while still green and unripe for use as the dried medicinal drug Fu Pen Zi.
Active Constituents
Ellagic acid
Ellagitannin-derived phenolic acidConcentration: Chinese Pharmacopoeia quality marker, not less than 0.2% of dried fruit
A principal antioxidant and quality-control marker of Fructus Rubi. It scavenges free radicals, inhibits lipid peroxidation, and contributes to the anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activity attributed to the herb.
Kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (nicotiflorin)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Chinese Pharmacopoeia quality marker, not less than 0.03% of dried fruit
A flavonoid glycoside used together with ellagic acid as an official marker for authentication. It shows antioxidant and vascular-protective activity in laboratory models.
Tiliroside
Acylated flavonol glycoside (kaempferol-3-O-(6''-O-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside)Concentration: Minor flavonoid constituent (typically sub-percent)
The first flavonoid isolated from R. chingii. It inhibits neuroinflammation in microglia via TRAF-6-mediated NF-kappaB and p38 MAPK signaling and has reported anti-obesity and antioxidant effects.
Gallic acid
Phenolic acidConcentration: Minor phenolic constituent
Contributes to the free-radical-scavenging and antimicrobial activity of the fruit; commonly quantified along with brevifolin carboxylic acid and ethyl gallate.
Quercetin
Flavonol (aglycone)Concentration: Minor aglycone constituent
An antioxidant flavonoid that, in vitro, directly stimulates alkaline phosphatase activity and bone formation, supporting the reported anti-osteoporotic action of the herb.
Kaempferol
Flavonol (aglycone)Concentration: Minor aglycone constituent
Shows a direct stimulatory effect on osteoblast alkaline phosphatase activity and bone formation in vitro and adds to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory profile of the fruit.
Goshonoside-F5 and related diterpene glycosides
Ent-labdane diterpenoid glycosidesConcentration: Characteristic minor constituents of the genus
Diterpene glycosides characteristic of R. chingii; the related rubusin A and B attenuate osteoclastic bone resorption at very low concentrations in vitro.
Highly oxygenated triterpenoids (e.g., 19-alpha-hydroxyursane types)
TriterpenoidsConcentration: Minor constituents
Several oxygenated triterpenoids isolated from Fructus Rubi show NF-kappaB inhibitory activity, contributing to the anti-inflammatory profile.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Oral antidiabetic drugs and insulin
Fruit extracts of R. chingii lower blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity in streptozotocin-diabetic mice by activating insulin/Akt/GSK3-beta and LKB1/AMPK signaling. Concurrent use with glucose-lowering drugs could theoretically have an additive effect.
Clinical note: Extrapolated from animal data only; no human interaction reports. Monitor glucose if used alongside hypoglycemic therapy.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Decoction (traditional water extraction)
Parts: dried unripe fruit
Typical adult dose is 6-12 g of the dried fruit decocted in water. The fruit is harvested green (unripe) in early summer, briefly blanched or steamed, then sun-dried before use. Used to tonify the Kidneys, secure Essence and reduce urinary frequency and enuresis.
Powder / pill
Parts: dried unripe fruit
Dried fruit is ground to a fine powder and taken directly or incorporated into pills and formulas (for example with Wu Wei Zi and Tu Si Zi). Often combined in formulas such as Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan for kidney essence deficiency.
Medicinal wine / tincture
Parts: dried unripe fruit
The fruit may be steeped in rice wine or ethanol as a tonic maceration. Ethanolic extraction efficiently recovers ellagic acid and flavonoid glycosides.
Clinical Studies
Hypoglycemic effects of Fu-Pen-Zi (Rubus chingii Hu) fruit extracts in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice
Fruit extracts reduced hyperglycemia, reversed skeletal-muscle atrophy and weight loss, protected pancreatic tissue, improved glucose tolerance, and regulated hepatic glycogen metabolism and gluconeogenesis in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice.
Rubus chingii Hu: A Review of the Phytochemistry and Pharmacology
Comprehensive review documenting terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and organic acids in R. chingii and their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antithrombotic, anti-osteoporotic, hypoglycemic, hepatoprotective and CNS-regulating activities.
Historical Texts
Ming Yi Bie Lu (Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians)
Han-Tang, c. 3rd-6th century CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1578References
- Zhang TT, Lu CL, Jiang JG, et al.. Bioactive components, pharmacological effects, and drug development of traditional herbal medicine Rubus chingii Hu (Fu-Pen-Zi) . Frontiers in Nutrition (2022) [DOI]
- Yu G, Luo Z, Wang W, Li Y, Zhou Y, Shi Y. Rubus chingii Hu: A Review of the Phytochemistry and Pharmacology . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2019) [DOI]
- Huo J, Zhao X, Zhao B, Kong D, Li Z, Yuan Y, Xu J. Hypoglycemic effects of Fu-Pen-Zi (Rubus chingii Hu) fruit extracts in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic mice . Journal of Functional Foods (2021) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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