← The ApothecaryRosaceaedried unripe fruit, ripe fruit (food), leavesFact-checked 24 October 2026

Chinese raspberry

Rubus chingii

Also calledFu pen zi / Fu-Pen-Zi (Chinese)

A raspberry of eastern and southern China whose dried unripe fruit, fu pen zi, is the only one of China's 194 Rubus species in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. It is a food-medicine 'kidney tonic' used for centuries for bedwetting, frequent urination, impotence, premature ejaculation and spermatorrhoea, notably in the patent pill Wuzi Yanzong Wan. The pharmacology is from laboratory and animal studies; clinical trials were not found.

What it is used for

Osteoporosis and bone health
Limited
An alkaloid from the fruit (2-hydroxyquinoline-4-carboxylic acid) has been reported to have anti-osteoporosis and phytoestrogenic activity in laboratory work.¹
Memory and cognition
Limited
Reported in laboratory and animal studies to improve learning and memory and to delay ageing; not tested in people.¹
Overactive bladder and night-time urination
Traditional
The dried fruits have been widely used in Chinese medicine for 'kidney' enuresis (bedwetting) and urinary frequency for centuries; no clinical trials were found.^1,2
Sexual function and libido
Traditional
A classic Chinese tonic for impotence, premature ejaculation and spermatorrhoea, alone or in formulas such as Wuzi Yanzong Wan, where it 'tonifies the kidney and benefits essence'.^1,2
General tonic
Traditional
Treated as a food-medicine for 'kidney deficiency'; the fresh ripe fruit is eaten and the plant is on China's 2002 list of substances that are both food and medicine.^1,2

How it is prepared

dry extract / capsule

Chinese patent medicines in the Pharmacopoeia, such as Wuzi Yanzong pills, Shenbao Heji and Yishenling granules.

Sexual function and libido · Overactive bladder and night-time urination

food

The fresh ripe fruit is eaten; the leaves have been proposed as a protein-rich food raw material.

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy: Insufficient data
Breastfeeding: Insufficient data

Toxicity

The maximum tolerated oral dose in mice exceeded 20 g/kg, with no mutagenicity in micronucleus, Ames or sperm-abnormality tests; leaf extract given to rats for 90 days at up to 10 g/kg/day caused no deaths or abnormal blood, biochemistry or tissue findings. Reviewers note that safety research remains limited.

In the healing traditions

Traditional Chinese Medicine
Fu pen zi
Tonic for enuresis, kidney deficiency, impotence, premature ejaculation, frequent urination and spermatorrhoea; tonifies the kidney, strengthens essence and is astringent. Ingredient of Wuzi Yanzong Wan (with goji, dodder seed, schisandra and plantain seed), Shenbao Heji and Yishenling granules.
Compendium of Materia Medica; Bencao Mengquan; Leigong Paozhi Lun; Qianjin Yi Fang; Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015
Modern pharmacology
Rubus chingii fruit and leaf
Terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic acids (ellagic acid), polysaccharides and sterols studied for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumour, anticoagulant, antidiabetic, liver-protective, neuroprotective and anti-osteoporosis activity.

Active compounds

ellagic acid: phenolic dilactone; antioxidant, anti-inflammatory
fupenzic acid, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid: abundant in young and mature fruit; oleanolic and ursolic acids are triterpenes studied for anti-inflammatory and antitumour effects
2-hydroxyquinoline-4-carboxylic acid, rubusine: alkaloids; the former reported anti-osteoporotic and phytoestrogenic
polysaccharides: antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in lab studies

History

Fu pen zi appears in classical Chinese herbals including the Compendium of Materia Medica, the Leigong Paozhi Lun and the Qianjin Yi Fang as a tonic for the kidney and essence. It is grown mainly in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi and Hubei.

Sources

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.