Jujube
Jujube is the fruit of Ziziphus jujuba, a small tree from Asia, also known as the Chinese date. It is eaten as food and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Also listed as Ziziphus Jujuba, Chinese Date, Da Zao, Fructus Jujubae
What it is studied for
The strongest rated effects first. Bars show the size of the effect, the letter grades the evidence, and each rating lists the studies behind it.
Fruit, seed or extract: which jujube?
Jujube is the fruit of Ziziphus jujuba, also called red date or Chinese date. It is eaten fresh or dried. Research on concentrated preparations and seeds asks different questions from research on the fruit as food. 1 2
Why are researchers interested in it?
Jujube contains flavonoids, polysaccharides and triterpenoids. A review describes cell and animal experiments suggesting effects on blood-cell production and immune signaling. These are research hypotheses; the review found no human study establishing the proposed benefit for blood deficiency. 1
Why people take it
SuppCo community snapshot, 2026-09-28. Reasons for use are not evidence that it works.
Questions people ask
Can eating jujube help me sleep?
The cited human trial tested seed powder. It cannot establish the same sleep effect for fresh or dried fruit. 2
Does it treat anemia?
The cited review describes promising cell and animal mechanisms, but no human study establishing its proposed blood-deficiency benefit. 1
Does it help constipation?
A small liquid-extract study found improvement, but many more placebo participants dropped out, weakening the comparison. 3
Can jujube interact with antidepressants?
A possible serious interaction has been reported with venlafaxine and a medicinal seed product. This warrants discussing supplement use with the prescriber. 4