Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum), of the Oleaceae family. Evergreen tree or large shrub with glossy leaves and panicles of small white flowers; native range: China and neighbouring east Asia; widely planted as a street tree. Globally recognized as nu zhen zi (女貞子) in Chinese, and Chinese privet, wax tree, privet fruit in English. The part used is ripe fruit (nu zhen zi); leaf in the West. Ovoid blue-black berries, sweet then bitter and faintly astringent; the leaves are cooling and astringent to the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
GLOSSY PRIVET
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Glossy privet
- Scientific name
- Ligustrum lucidum W.T.Aiton
- Family
- Oleaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit (nu zhen zi); leaf in the West
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bitter
- Western
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Western
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Kidney
- Western
- mucous membranes · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- tonifies liver and kidney yin, benefits the eyes, blackens the hair and strengthens the sinews and bones
- Western
- astringent, detergent
Cautions
- Contraindications
- spleen and stomach cold with diarrhoea; yang deficiency
- Toxicity
- large doses may loosen the bowels or cause mild nausea
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