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August 26, 2012

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TCM Treasures - Jin Yin Hua 金银花

JIN yin hua (honeysuckle) is a traditional medicinal herb widely used to dispel inner heat, especially in summer. Convenient and safe, this plant is usually taken as a daily drink in China.

Snow white as a bud and golden yellow in blossom, jin yin hua means "gold and silver flower." It is listed as one of the traditional herbs in traditional Chinese medicine bible "Ben Cao Gang Mu" (Compendium of Materia Medica).

Known as an effective remedy, honeysuckle flower has a pleasant aroma and is used to remove inner heat without hurting the stomach. Its penetrating fragrance helps eliminate pathogens. The flower has proved effective in cleaning the blood, treating fever, reducing skin eruptions and relieving sore throats.

Honeysuckle grows in subtropical areas but is very hardy. While it likes sunny climates, it can also endure cold and dark environments; it prefers humidity but can also thrive in dry places. It is also happy with both acidic and alkaline lands.

The flower is so popular that you may find it made into various drinks and other healthcare products available in drug stores and convenience stores.

Liubao Tea (Six Treasures Tea)

Mix dried honeysuckle flowers, green tea leaves, rocky sugar, sliced dried hawthorn fruit, chrysanthemum petals and gou qi (Chinese wolfberry).

Cover with boiling water and leave for three minutes.

Take the tea as a daily drink.

Benefits: Removes inner heat.

Jin Yin Tea

Mix Honeysuckle flower, lian qiao (forsythia suspensa), da qing gen (isatis tinctoria), lu gen (reed rhizome) and gan cao (radix glycyrrhizae) - 15g of each.

Add water and boil.

Drink it every day for three to five days.

Benefits: Helps prevent epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis.





 

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