Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Herbal MedicinePromoting Democratic Culture and Preserving Traditional Chinese Medicine
Honeysuckle (Jin Yin Hua) is a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb. It belongs to the category of clearing heat and detoxifying herbs. The flower has two petals, one large and one small, and was first recorded in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” under the section on Lonicera. Li Shizhen noted that this plant flowers in March and April, with flowers about an inch long, having a large and small petal, and long stamens. Initially, the flowers are white, turning yellow after two to three days, hence the name “Honeysuckle”. Currently, the products are categorized into three types: Southern Honeysuckle, Eastern Honeysuckle, and Mountain Honeysuckle.
Aliases: Honeysuckle, Double Flower, Two Flowers, Lonicera Flower, Two Treasure Flower.
Source: The dried flower buds of the perennial evergreen climbing shrub Lonicera japonica and other related species. Mostly cultivated, with some wild varieties.
Harvesting and Storage: Honeysuckle flowers bloom in a concentrated period, requiring timely harvesting. Generally, the first harvest occurs in mid to late May, and the second in mid to late June. The best time to harvest is when the flower buds are swollen but not yet open, appearing pale green. After harvesting, Honeysuckle should be dried immediately.
Origin:
Southern Honeysuckle (Mi Yin Hua): Mainly produced in counties such as Mixian, Weishi, and Xingyang in Henan Province. It has the best quality but lower yield, mostly for export.
Eastern Honeysuckle (Ji Yin Hua): Mainly produced in counties such as Feixian, Pingyi, Cangshan, Mengyin, and Yishui in Shandong Province. It has good quality and higher yield, for both domestic and export markets.
Mountain Honeysuckle (Tu Yin Hua): Mostly produced in provinces like Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Hubei, Anhui, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Guizhou, often sold locally. Guangxi and Hunan have larger yields and also supply non-producing areas.
Identification:
Southern Honeysuckle: The flower buds are rod-shaped and slightly curved, about 2-3 cm long, with a diameter of about 3 mm at the top and 1 mm at the bottom, with a blunt tip. The base often has gray-green small flower calyxes, five-lobed, about 3-5 mm long. The flower buds are yellow-white and densely covered with short hairs. When the flower bud is opened, five stamens and one pistil can be seen, and the fully opened flowers can reach 5 cm in length, with a lip-shaped corolla that is wrinkled and yellow-brown. It has a fragrant aroma with a slightly bitter taste, characterized by clear flower bud branches without open flowers, thick corolla, and a yellow-white color with a slight green tint, giving a firm feel when held.
Eastern Honeysuckle: Similar in shape and taste to Southern Honeysuckle, but the flower buds are slightly larger and lighter, often mixed with open flowers or green leaves. The flower buds are yellow-white, and the open flowers are yellow-brown, with more curvature and disordered branches. It feels less firm when held.
Mountain Honeysuckle: The flower buds are also rod-shaped but thinner and yellow, sometimes with light green or brownish flowers that have opened. They are less hairy or not hairy at all, brittle and easy to break when held, with a sweet aroma and a slightly sour and bitter taste.
All three types of Honeysuckle are best when the flower buds are plump, pale green or yellow-white, with few open flowers and no stem leaves.
Main Components: Contains inositol, luteolin, chlorogenic acid, tannins, etc.
Preparation: Honeysuckle: Remove dirt and impurities. For carbonized Honeysuckle: Take the cleaned Honeysuckle, place it in a pot, and stir-fry until it turns dark brown, then spray with clean water, remove, and dry in the sun.
Taste and Properties: Sweet and cold.
Meridians Entered: Enters the Lung, Heart, and Stomach meridians.
Functions: Clears heat and detoxifies. Carbonized version cools the blood and stops bleeding.
Indications: External wind-heat, acute febrile diseases, carbuncles, and toxic heat dysentery.
Precautions: Avoid in cases of spleen and stomach deficiency-cold and qi deficiency with clear pus.
Dose: Commonly used in doses of 9-30g, for treating heat dysentery, a concentrated decoction is required. For carbuncles and sores, a larger dose is generally used, typically 30g, and in severe cases, it may be increased to 60-90g, with some using up to 120g.
Storage: Store in a cool, dry place, protected from moisture and pests.
Effects and Actions of Honeysuckle
1. Used for external wind-heat or initial stages of warm diseases.
Honeysuckle is sweet and cold, clearing heat from the qi level and blood level, and has a slight dispersing effect, making it suitable for treating external wind-heat or initial symptoms of warm diseases with unresolved exterior and excess internal heat. It is often combined with Lian Qiao (Forsythia), Niu Bang Zi (Burdock), and Bo He (Mint).
2. Used for sores, carbuncles, and throat swelling and pain.
Honeysuckle has a strong heat-clearing and detoxifying effect, commonly used in surgery for red, swollen, and painful sores and carbuncles, particularly suitable for conditions classified as “yang syndromes”. It can be combined with Pu Gong Ying (Dandelion), Di Ding Cao (Hedyotis), Lian Qiao, Dan Pi (Moutan), and Chi Shao (Red Peony) for decoction or used fresh as a poultice.
3. Used for dysentery and blood in stools caused by heat toxins.
Heat toxins accumulate in the intestines and enter the blood, leading to dysentery with blood. Honeysuckle can cool the blood and resolve heat toxins, thus treating blood dysentery. Clinically, it is often used in carbonized form combined with Huang Qin (Scutellaria), Huang Lian (Coptis), Bai Shao (White Peony), and Ma Chi Xian (Portulaca) for decoction.
4. Honeysuckle is sweet and cold, aromatic, capable of clearing and dispersing, and particularly effective for treating yang-type sores.
When combined with Lian Qiao, Niu Bang Zi, Bo He, and Jing Jie (Schizonepeta), it disperses and clears heat; when combined with Sheng Di (Rehmannia), Xuan Shen (Scrophularia), Lian Qiao, and Zhu Ye (Bamboo Leaf), it clears the nutritive level and drains heat; when combined with Zi Hua Di Ding (Viola), Ye Ju Hua (Wild Chrysanthemum), and Pu Gong Ying, it detoxifies and heals sores; when combined with Huang Qi (Astragalus), Dang Gui (Angelica), and Gan Cao (Licorice), it expels toxins and resolves carbuncles; when combined with Huang Qin, Bai Shao, and Gan Cao, it clears heat and treats dysentery.
Pharmacological Effects of Honeysuckle
1. Antibacterial and antiviral.
It has significant inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, hemolytic streptococcus, dysentery, typhoid, meningococci, pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and influenza virus.
2. Enhances immunity.
Honeysuckle promotes lymphocyte transformation and enhances the phagocytic function of white blood cells.
3. Anti-inflammatory and antipyretic.
Honeysuckle promotes the release of adrenal cortex hormones and has a significant inhibitory effect on inflammation.
Honeysuckle slices can be divided into three types: raw, stir-fried, and carbonized. These three products have different tastes and effects, each with its own strengths in application.
Consumption Methods of Honeysuckle
1. Three Flower Tea
Preparation: 10g of Honeysuckle, 10g of Chrysanthemum, and 3g of Jasmine tea, steeped in boiling water for drinking. Indications: Clears heat and detoxifies, treats headache, thirst, and throat swelling.
2. Honeysuckle Drink
Preparation: Honeysuckle and Hawthorn steeped in hot water, used as a tea substitute. Indications: Opens the appetite and aids digestion.
3. Honeysuckle Syrup
Preparation: Honeysuckle flowers and leaves boiled with water, first on high heat then on low heat for 30 minutes, strain the juice and add rock sugar for drinking. Indications: Clears heat and relieves summer heat.
4. Honeysuckle Porridge
Preparation: Add a small amount of Honeysuckle buds while cooking porridge. Indications: Boosts immunity.
Side Effects of Honeysuckle
Fresh Honeysuckle flowers have a pleasant fragrance and contain a lot of nectar, often consumed by rural children. Fresh flowers dried or processed like green tea become the finished product of Honeysuckle. There are two types of Honeysuckle tea on the market: one is made from fresh Honeysuckle mixed with a small amount of green tea, processed as flower tea; the other is made from dried Honeysuckle and green tea. The former has a strong floral aroma, primarily for enjoying the fragrance; the latter has a lower floral aroma but retains the medicinal effects of Honeysuckle, maintaining its health benefits. Regarding side effects, Honeysuckle tea is suitable for all ages, especially in summer.
Precautions
Honeysuckle primarily clears heat and detoxifies. Although it has no side effects, attention should be paid to the processing methods. Some merchants may add sulfur for better appearance, which should be avoided. If the original color of Honeysuckle is still visible, it can be used, but caution is advised. If the processing method involves quick killing, it can be consumed safely.
Differences Between Mountain Honeysuckle and Honeysuckle
1. Different sources.
Honeysuckle is the dried flower buds or early flowers of the Lonicera plant, while Mountain Honeysuckle is the dried flower buds or early flowers of Lonicera glauca, Lonicera japonica, or Lonicera hypoglauca.
2. Different characteristics.
Honeysuckle is rod-shaped, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, 2-3 cm long, with a diameter of 3 mm at the top and 1.5 mm at the bottom, yellow-white or green-white, densely covered with short soft hairs. Occasionally, leaf-like bracts are seen, and the calyx is green and five-lobed, with lobes having hairs, about 2 mm long. The open flowers have a tubular corolla, with a two-lipped end, five stamens attached to the wall of the tube, yellow; one pistil, with a hairless ovary, has a fragrant aroma and a slightly bitter taste.
Lonicera glauca is rod-shaped and slightly curved, 3-4.5 cm long, with a diameter of 2 mm at the top and 1 mm at the bottom, green-brown to yellow-white. The total flower stalks cluster together. The open flowers have lobes that do not reach half the total length, slightly hard, and have a slight elasticity when pinched, with a fragrant aroma and a slightly bitter-sweet taste.
Lonicera japonica is 2.5-4.5 cm long, with a diameter of 0.8-2 mm, yellow-white to yellow-brown, hairless or sparsely hairy, with a hairless calyx tube.
Lonicera hypoglauca is 1.6-3.5 cm long, with a diameter of 0.5-2 mm, with a calyx tube and corolla densely covered with gray-white hairs, and the ovary is hairy.
3. Different components and contents.
Honeysuckle contains chlorogenic acid, and the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopoeia stipulates that chlorogenic acid must not be less than 1.5% when measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Honeysuckle contains luteolin, and the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopoeia stipulates that luteolin must not be less than 0.10% when measured by high-performance liquid chromatography.
Mountain Honeysuckle contains chlorogenic acid, and the 2005 edition of the Pharmacopoeia stipulates that chlorogenic acid must not be less than 1.5% when measured by high-performance liquid chromatography.
Honeysuckle and Mountain Honeysuckle have significant differences in terms of source, characteristics, and components, and care should be taken to distinguish between them in use.
Clinical Applications of Honeysuckle
1. Early stage of warm diseases.
Often used with Lian Qiao, Bo He, and Dan Dou Chi, it has heat-clearing, detoxifying, and wind-dispersing effects, suitable for the early stage of warm diseases with mild fever, aversion to cold, and slight thirst, such as in Yin Qiao San.
2. Carbuncles and abscesses.
Often used with Pu Gong Ying, Zi Di Ding, and Ye Ju Hua, it enhances heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, suitable for carbuncles and abscesses with redness, swelling, and pain, such as in Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin.
3. Mid-stage of warm diseases.
Often used with Huang Qin, Zhi Zi, Shi Gao, Zhu Ru, and Lu Gen, it has heat-clearing, detoxifying, and expelling evil effects, suitable for conditions with heat obstructing the stomach qi, causing irritability, chest oppression, thirst, dry vomiting, red tongue with dry coating, and slippery rapid pulse.
4. Dysentery.
Often used with Huang Lian, Chi Shao, Mu Xiang, and Ma Chi Xian, it has heat-clearing, intestinal regulating, and blood-transforming effects, suitable for damp-heat obstructing the intestines, causing dysentery with pus and blood, abdominal pain, and urgency.
5. Epidemic dysentery.
Often used with Sheng Di, Chi Shao, Dan Pi, Huang Lian, Huang Bai, and Bai Tou Weng, it has heat-clearing, detoxifying, and cooling blood effects, suitable for epidemic toxins invading the stomach and intestines, with fresh purple pus and blood in stools, strong fever, thirst, irritability, and even delirium.
Additional Formulas with Honeysuckle
1. Prevention of Japanese encephalitis and meningitis.
Honeysuckle, Lian Qiao, Da Qing Gen, Lu Gen, and Gan Cao, each 15g. Decoction for drinking as a tea substitute, taken daily for three to five days. (From “Jiangxi Herbal Medicine”)
2. Treatment of Taiyin wind-heat and initial warm diseases, with heat but no aversion to cold and thirst.
Lian Qiao 50g, Honeysuckle 50g, Ku Ju Gen 30g, Bo He 30g, Zhu Ye 20g, Sheng Gan Cao 25g, Jing Jie Sui 20g, Dan Dou Chi 25g, Niu Bang Zi 30g. Grind into a powder, take 30g, decoct with fresh reed root. (From “Differentiation of Warm Diseases” Yin Qiao San)
3. Treatment of dysentery.
Honeysuckle (roasted in a copper pot until dry) 25g. For red dysentery, take with white honey water; for white dysentery, take with sugar water. (From “Experience Formula of Huizhi Tang” Lonicera Powder)
4. Treatment of heat strangury.
Honeysuckle, Hai Jin Sha, Tian Hu Su, Jin Ying Zi root, and Bai Mao Gen, each 50g. Decoction for drinking, daily for five to seven days as a course of treatment. (From “Jiangxi Herbal Medicine”)
5. Treatment of biliary tract infections and wound infections.
Honeysuckle 50g, Lian Qiao, Da Qing Gen, Huang Qin, and Ye Ju Hua, each 25g. Decoction for drinking, daily for one dose. (From “Jiangxi Herbal Medicine”)
6. Treatment of severe pain in sores with purple-black discoloration.
Honeysuckle with branches and leaves (chopped) 100g, Huang Qi 200g, Gan Cao 50g. Finely chop, add one liter of wine, place in a sealed container, boil in water for two to three hours, strain, and take. (From “Essentials of Healing” Honeysuckle Powder)
7. Treatment of all swellings and toxins, regardless of whether they have ruptured or are newly formed with fever, and for carbuncles and throat phlegm.
Honeysuckle (with stems and leaves) half a bowl of natural juice, decoct to 80% and take, applying the residue externally, expelling toxins and harmonizing blood, with unique efficacy. (From “Experience Formula of Jishan Tang”)
8. Treatment of initial onset of carbuncles and abscesses.
Honeysuckle 250g, boil in ten bowls of water until reduced to two bowls, add 100g of Dang Gui, and boil until reduced to one bowl, take all at once. (From “Essentials of the Cave”)
9. Treatment of all internal and external carbuncles and swellings.
Honeysuckle 200g, Gan Cao 150g. Decoction for immediate consumption, for those who can drink, use wine for decoction. (From “Heart Understanding of Medicine” Honeysuckle Decoction)
10. Treatment of large intestine abscesses, with pain that cannot be pressed, and the right foot bent and unable to stretch.
Honeysuckle 150g, Dang Gui 100g, Di Yu 50g, Mai Dong 50g, Xuan Shen 50g, Sheng Gan Cao 15g, Yi Ren 25g, Huang Qin 10g. Decoction for drinking. (From “Essentials of the Cave” Clear Intestine Decoction)
Distinguishing Quality of Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle has extensive medicinal value and health benefits, with high social demand. The color of Honeysuckle varies, and its medicinal effects differ accordingly. Below is how to identify the quality of Honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle is the flower buds of the Lonicera plant, with a sweet and cold nature. It is produced in most regions of China, with Shandong having the highest yield, but Henan produces the best quality, being a local specialty. Honeysuckle has effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing wind-heat, cooling blood, stopping dysentery, lowering blood pressure, and relieving throat discomfort. Henan-produced Honeysuckle is of high quality and low price, but there are many counterfeit products in the market, so it is recommended to purchase from well-known brands. It treats warm diseases, fever, heat toxin dysentery, carbuncles, swellings, and abscesses. It has a fragrant aroma, a mild taste, and a slightly bitter flavor. The name “Honeysuckle” comes from the fact that the flowers are white when they first bloom and turn yellow later.
The better the color of Honeysuckle, the better its medicinal effect and value, so it is essential to learn how to distinguish it. Let’s look at how to identify different qualities of Honeysuckle.
National Standards for Honeysuckle Products are divided into four grades:
First Grade: Dried product, flower buds are cup-shaped, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, surface green-white, corolla thick and slightly hard, with a firm feel when held; fragrant aroma, sweet and slightly bitter taste. Open flowers, broken flower buds, and yellow strips do not exceed 5%. No black strips, black heads, branches, leaves, impurities, pests, or mold;
Second Grade: Basically the same as first grade, but open flowers do not exceed 5%. Broken flower buds and yellow strips do not exceed 10%;
Third Grade: Dried product, flower buds are rod-shaped, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, surface green-white or yellow-white, corolla thick and hard, with a firm feel when held. Fragrant aroma, sweet and slightly bitter taste. Open flowers and black heads do not exceed 30%. No branches, leaves, impurities, pests, or mold;
Fourth Grade: Dried product. Flower buds or open flowers are mixed, color is not distinguished. Branches and leaves do not exceed 3%, no impurities, pests, or mold. Only by knowing how to distinguish Honeysuckle can one ensure the purchase of good quality Honeysuckle, which is essential for better disease treatment.
Related Discussions on Honeysuckle
1. “Bencao Zheng” states: “Its nature is slightly cold, good at transforming toxins. Therefore, it treats carbuncles, swellings, and toxins, sores, and rheumatic toxins, truly a key medicine. If the toxin has not formed, it can disperse; if the toxin has formed, it can resolve. However, its nature is mild, and it should be taken in larger doses or cooked with wine, or the juice can be mixed with wine for immediate drinking, or ground and mixed with wine for thick application. For treating scrofula and other upper qi toxins, use a certain amount, and it is extremely effective when frequently decocted.”
2. “Bencao Qiuzhen” states: “Honeysuckle is mentioned in various texts as nourishing blood and supplementing deficiency, also entering the lungs to disperse heat, capable of treating sores, dysentery, carbuncles, and hemorrhoids, being a key agent for detoxification in surgery. It seems to belong to two categories. However, it is not known that those who say it can supplement deficiency do so because of its fragrant sweet taste, and although it enters the interior to clear heat, it does not harm too quickly; those who say it can nourish blood do so because it resolves the toxic accumulation in the blood, and the blood can nourish itself. Ultimately, it is a product for clearing heat and detoxifying, so all diseases like carbuncles can be treated with it internally, taking its cold energy to clear heat, and it is said that long-term use can lighten the body and prolong life, which is not without exaggeration. Many ancient texts describe the medicinal effects, but those using the medicine should recognize clearly and not be misled by the effects of the medicine.”
Note: Southern Honeysuckle is mostly harvested in April and May, preferably on sunny mornings, and should be spread out on stones for drying immediately after harvesting. If it is cloudy, the harvested flower buds should be spread thinly on bamboo mats for ventilation and shade drying to maintain the bright color of the flower buds, resulting in better quality.
Eastern Honeysuckle has a larger yield, but due to labor shortages, some flower buds may open before timely harvesting, leading to a chaotic collection, often mixed with leaves, and cannot be dried quickly due to rain, resulting in lower quality than Southern Honeysuckle.
Mountain Honeysuckle is often found wild in various provinces in southern China, with an earlier flowering period, harvested in March and April, during which the region enters the rainy season. Harvesting in the morning and returning home in the afternoon leads to prolonged pressure on the collected flower buds, and after selling to supply and marketing cooperatives, they cannot be dried quickly due to rain, often being treated with sulfur for fumigation and then dried. During the fumigation and drying process, the Honeysuckle becomes semi-cooked or fully cooked, losing its hairs, and the flower buds become gelatinous, resulting in a lack of visible hairs after drying, although microscopic examination may reveal residual hair traces as small white spots.
Appendix: Lonicera Vine.
Lonicera vine, also known as Honeysuckle vine, is the tender young stems of the Lonicera plant. The stems are cylindrical and slender. The product usually consists of several branches or a dozen branches coiled into a bundle, with a diameter of about 1.5-6 mm. The surface is reddish-brown, and the peeling surface appears gray-green. Old stems are hairless and leafless. Young stems are often densely hairy and usually have oval opposite leaves, gray-green or yellow-green, often broken and incomplete. The vine stems are brittle and easy to break. The cross-section is gray-white or yellow-white, with a hollow pith.
Uniform branches with brown-red inner skin and tender quality with leaves are preferred.
Preparation: Cut into sections, used raw.
Effects: Similar to Honeysuckle, also clears wind-heat from the meridians and alleviates meridian pain.
Appendix: Silver Flower Vine
Its heat-clearing and detoxifying effects are not as strong as Honeysuckle, but it has a stronger effect on dispelling wind and activating the meridians, often used for treating wind-damp pain, commonly used in doses of 12-30g.
Note: Across the country, Honeysuckle vine and Lonicera vine are considered the same medicine, and tender branches with leaves are preferred. However, in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they are divided into Silver Flower Vine and Honeysuckle Vine, with tender branches and leaves referred to as Silver Flower Vine, while older, thicker branches with peeling bark are called Honeysuckle Vine.
Use medication with caution, please follow medical advice! (Source: Internet)
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