Honeysuckle
金银花 · Jīn Yín Huā
Cools sore throats and skin breakouts
Properties
CoolingCooling botanicalSweet
Concerns
What it does
Honeysuckle eases sore throats, fevers, hot skin breakouts, and the early stages of colds and flu. In TCM, it removes toxic heat and dispels wind-heat, the early cold pattern with sore throat and fever. It pairs with forsythia in Yin Qiao San, China's most-used cold remedy. Chlorogenic acid and luteolin show broad antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects in lab studies.
How to take it
Steep 6–15g of dried honeysuckle flowers in hot water for 10 minutes. Drink 1–3 cups during acute illness. Iced honeysuckle tea is a popular Chinese summer drink.
Try a Yin Qiao San formula at the first scratch of a sore throat
Steep 15–30g in 2 cups water, cool, and apply as a wash to hot skin breakouts, eczema flares, or red rashes. Use 2–3 times daily, short-term.
Try a cooled honeysuckle wash on inflamed acne or hot rashes
Safety
- Generally well tolerated for short-term use
- Cooling. Skip with cold-pattern conditions or weak digestion
- Skip during pregnancy without practitioner guidance
- Stop after symptoms resolve. Not for long-term daily use
- Talk to your doctor before starting, especially if you take medication
Where it comes from
Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) has been a TCM staple for over 1,500 years. The Chinese name Jīn Yín Huā means 'gold-silver flower,' from the way the white flowers turn yellow as they age, leaving both colors on the same vine. It's the lead herb in Yin Qiao San, the most-prescribed cold remedy in modern Chinese practice. During the SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks, honeysuckle-based formulas saw renewed institutional interest in China.