Winter Cherry
OTHER NAME(S): Alkékenge, Amour en Cage, Bladder Cherry, Cape Gooseberry, Cerise d'Hiver, Cerise de Terre, Chinese Lantern, Coqueret, Coqueret Alkékenge, Corazoncillo, Farolillo Chino, Groseille du Cap, Ground Cherry, Herbe à Cloques, Herbe aux Cloques, Herbe à la Pierre, Japanese Lantern, Jin Deng Long, Lanterne Chinoise, Lanterne Japonaise, Physalis, Strawberry Ground Cherry, Strawberry Tomato, Physalis alkekengi, winter cherries, cape gooseberries, Alquequenje, Cerise d'hiver
Overview
Winter cherry is a plant. It grows in central and southern Europe, Iran, China, and Southeast Asia. The fruit and leaves are used to make medicine.
People use winter cherry for arthritis, enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH), fever, swelling, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
Don't confuse winter cherry with ashwagandha. Both are known as winter cherry. Also don't confuse winter cherry with sweet cherry, tart cherry, or wild cherry.
There isn't enough information available to know how winter cherry might work.
There isn't enough information available to know how winter cherry might work.
Uses
Insufficient Evidence for
- Enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH).
- Arthritis.
- Gout.
- Increasing urine flow (as a diuretic) in kidney and bladder conditions.
- Fever.
- Constipation.
- Swelling.
- Preventing pregnancy.
- Causing an abortion.
- Other conditions.
More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of winter cherry for these uses.
Side Effects
When taken by mouth: There isn't enough reliable information to know if winter cherry is safe or what the side effects might be.
Precautions
When taken by mouth: There isn't enough reliable information to know if winter cherry is safe or what the side effects might be.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Winter cherry is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken during pregnancy. Winter cherry might prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb. Don't use winter cherry if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. There isn't enough reliable information to know if winter cherry is safe to use when breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
Diabetes: Winter cherry might reduce blood sugar levels. Taking winter cherry might increase the risk of blood sugar levels becoming too low, especially if you are taking insulin or other diabetes medications.
Surgery: Winter cherry might reduce blood sugar levels. There is a concern that it might increase the chance of blood sugar falling too low during and after surgery. Stop using winter cherry at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.
Interactions
Moderate Interaction
Be cautious with this combination
- Medications for diabetes (Antidiabetes drugs) interacts with Winter CherryWinter cherry might decrease blood sugar. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar. Taking winter cherry along with diabetes medications might cause your blood sugar to go too low. Monitor your blood sugar closely. The dose of your diabetes medication might need to be changed. Some medications used for diabetes include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (Diabeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), and others.
- Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) substrates) interacts with Winter CherrySome medications are changed and broken down by the liver. Winter cherry might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down some medications. Taking winter cherry along with some medications that are changed by the liver can increase the effects and side effects of your medication. Before taking winter cherry, talk to your healthcare provider if you take any medications that are changed by the liver. Some medications that are changed by the liver include acetaminophen, chlorzoxazone (Parafon Forte), ethanol, theophylline, and drugs used for anesthesia during surgery such as enflurane (Ethrane), halothane (Fluothane), isoflurane (Forane), and methoxyflurane (Penthrane).
Dosing
The appropriate dose of winter cherry depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for winter cherry. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using.
References
- Gruenwald J, Brendler T, Jaenicke C. PDR for Herbal Medicines. 1st ed. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, Inc., 1998.
- Beiraghdar F, Einollahi B, Ghadyani A, et al. A two-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Viola odorata, Echium amoenum and Physalis alkekengi mixture in symptomatic benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) men. Pharm Biol 2017;55(1):1800-5.
- Montaserti A, Pourheydar M, Khazaei M, Ghorbani R. Anti-fertility effects of Physalis alkekengi alcoholic extract in female rat. Iranian J Reproduct Med 2007;5(1):13-16.
- Hu XF, Zhang Q, Zhang PP, et al. Evaluation of in vitro/in vivo anti-diabetic effects and identification of compounds from Physalis alkekengi. Fitoterapia. 2018;127:129-137.
- Zhang Q, Hu XF, Xin MM, et al. Antidiabetic potential of the ethyl acetate extract of Physalis alkekengi and chemical constituents identified by HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. J Ethnopharmacol. 2018;225:202-210.