The Overlooked Herb with 500-Year Tradition: Hovenia Dulcis and Ancient Wisdom

Here at Raisin Tree®, natural wellness begins with tried-and-true ingredients.

Perhaps none is as intriguing as Hovenia dulcis, a fruiting tree native to East Asia, commonly referred to as the "Oriental Raisin Tree."

While it is relatively new to Western markets, Hovenia Dulcis extract has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Korean traditional medicine. It’s most common application? Enhancing the body's response to alcohol intake.

In fact, its roots go far back into the 16th century, when Li Shizhen (1518–1593), one of China's greatest clinician and herbalist scholars, included Hovenia dulcis in his masterwork, the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu).

This medieval encyclopaedia—worked on for more than 27 years—documents thousands of herbal medicines and remains a staple of TCM to this day.

In it, Hovenia Dulcis extract is particularly credited with helping the body recover from alcohol.

While modern science has only recently begun to examine this use, the traditional medicine had already established that this herb was of value as a safe method of helping the natural recovery and balance. It is both ironic and telling that a herb like Hovenia dulcis, with 500+ years of documented use in alcohol-related applications, is treated as suspect, while synthetic "cures" are marketed freely with far less historical grounding.

We honour today this legacy not as a medical fact, but as a tribute to the intelligence of our ancestors, who valued the power of nature before we learned to perform clinical trials.

This is for information only and not as a medical advice. Hovenia dulcis extract should not be utilized to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. If you're curious about your health or supplements, consult with a qualified health care practitioner.