Posts Tagged: sore throat

honeysuckle flower – fever, sore throat

honeysuckle flower fever sore throat
This is the flower of Japanese honeysuckle, called ι‡‘ι“ΆθŠ± jin yin hua or gold and silver flower in Chinese. It is traditionally used for fever, sore throat, colds, flus, sore throat, and infectious skin diseases. So it is part of a famous combination of herbs called Yin Qiao San that was composed in the 18th Century when trade with the West brought new epidemic diseases to China.
In China it was given to people with the initial symptoms of COVID-19 infection (1).

There is scientific evidence to back this up. For instance a 2018 systematic review of the biological properties of honeysuckle flower found that it has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pyretic effects.(2) It was part of a combination of herbs given to “first-line medical staff” treating SARS in Beijing and none off these contracted SARS,(3) Further 23 Chinese Provinces have issued preventative programmes using herbal medicine against COVID-19, and a review of the history, research evidence, and current prevention programs concluded that people at high risk of contagion “would probably benefit from taking CHM formulae for prevention”.(3) In China these formulae are readily available in hospitals and pharmacies.

Yes. China once had to deal with epidemic diseases from the West.

Please note that under Australian Healthcare Advertising regulations, there is not enough high standard evidence to state that jin yin hua or Chinese Herbal Medicine in general effectively prevents infection by COVID-19, and no claim is made here that it does.

(1) Chen JK ‘How COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) is Currently Treated in China with TCM’
Retrieved 31/3/20 here:
(2) Yan-Ran Tang et al. Digital Chinese Medicine 1, 2, June 2018, 173-188. ‘Lonicerae Flos: A Review of Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities.’
Retrieved 31/3/2020 here:
(3) Lou et al. Chin J Integr Med 2020 Apr;26(4):243-250. ‘Can Chinese Medicine Be Used for Prevention of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)? A Review of Historical Classics, Research Evidence and Current Prevention Programs’
Retrieved 1/4/20 here: