Jin Yin Hua
StarLonicera japonica Thunb.
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Resolves Toxicity; Disperses Wind-Heat; Cools the Blood and Stops Dysentery; Clears Summer-Heat
Traditional Chinese Uses
Jin Yin Hua (honeysuckle flower) is a cold, sweet herb considered one of the most important Heat-toxin-clearing herbs in Chinese medicine. It is used for acute febrile illness with fever and sore throat, Wind-Heat external patterns, and inflammatory and infectious conditions characterized by hot, swollen sores and carbuncles. Its pleasant taste and relatively gentle nature make it appropriate for heat-clearing as a daily tea in summer and for common cold and flu prevention. It is a primary component of Yin Qiao San, one of the most frequently used formulas in Chinese medicine.
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
The Cherokee used the vines to make baskets (Hamel and Chiltoskey, 1975).
Used In Formulas (1)
Botanical Description
Lonicera japonica, commonly known as Japanese honeysuckle or by its Chinese name Jin Yin Hua (gold and silver flower), is a vigorous, semi-evergreen to evergreen twining woody vine in the family Caprifoliaceae native to eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and widely naturalised and often invasive in North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Its slender, hairy stems climb by twining and can reach 10 m in length, rooting at the nodes where they touch soil. The leaves are opposite, ovate to oblong, 3 to 8 cm long, with entire margins and a softly pubescent underside. Fragrant tubular flowers are borne in pairs from the leaf axils throughout summer; each flower opens white and ages over a day or two to deep yellow, so that flowers of both colours are present on the plant simultaneously, the source of its evocative Chinese name. The corolla is two-lipped with the upper lip four-lobed and the lower lip a single recurved strap, and the stamens and style are conspicuously exserted. The fruit is a small, glossy, blue-black to black paired berry.
Active Constituents
Chlorogenic acid (5-O-caffeoylquinic acid)
Caffeoylquinic acid (phenolic acid)Concentration: Not less than 1.5% of dried flower bud (Chinese Pharmacopoeia marker)
The principal marker compound and a major antibacterial/antiviral and anti-inflammatory constituent. It underlies the herb's 'clears heat and resolves toxicity' function against sore throat, carbuncles and febrile disease.
Isochlorogenic acid A (3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid)
Dicaffeoylquinic acid (phenolic acid)Concentration: Approx. 1-3% (sum of dicaffeoylquinic acids)
A potent antioxidant and antiviral dicaffeoylquinic acid that acts synergistically with chlorogenic acid; contributes to inhibition of influenza and other respiratory viruses in vitro.
Luteolin
Flavone (aglycone)Concentration: Not less than 0.1% (Chinese Pharmacopoeia marker)
A quality-control flavone with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral effects; works with chlorogenic acid to give the flower bud its cold-dispersing, toxicity-resolving activity.
Luteolin-7-O-glucoside (luteoloside)
Flavone glycosideConcentration: Approx. 0.1-0.4% of dried flower bud
Water-soluble flavone glycoside contributing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in the aqueous extract and infusion.
Loganin
Iridoid glycoside (secoiridoid)Concentration: Approx. 0.05-0.5% of dried flower bud
A characteristic iridoid marker of Lonicera japonica flower with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activity in preclinical models; used to distinguish genuine Lonicerae japonicae flos from adulterants.
Sweroside
Secoiridoid glycosideConcentration: Trace to ~0.2% of dried flower bud
A secoiridoid with reported anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and antibacterial activity that adds to the toxin-resolving profile of the herb.
Rutin (and hyperoside)
Flavonol glycosidesConcentration: Approx. 0.05-0.3% of dried flower bud
Flavonol glycosides contributing antioxidant activity and capillary-stabilising effects, part of the broad polyphenolic complex of the bud.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Antibiotics / antivirals (adjunctive use)
Chlorogenic and dicaffeoylquinic acids have broad antibacterial and antiviral activity in vitro; when used with conventional anti-infectives the effect is expected to be additive rather than antagonistic.
Clinical note: No adverse interaction documented; commonly co-used in integrative practice for respiratory infection.
Antiplatelet / anticoagulant agents
Chlorogenic acid shows mild antiplatelet and antioxidant activity in vitro, giving a theoretical additive risk of bleeding with anticoagulants; not observed clinically.
Clinical note: Caution only at high sustained intake in patients on warfarin or dual antiplatelet therapy.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Raw dried flower bud, decoction or infusion
Parts: Dried flower bud (unopened)
Typical dose 6-15 g, increased to 30-60 g for severe toxic-heat conditions such as carbuncles and dysentery. Best added toward the end of decoction or infused, as prolonged boiling degrades the volatile and antiviral constituents. High-quality material consists of unopened greenish-yellow buds.
Charred flower bud (Yin Hua Tan)
Parts: Dried flower bud
Stir-frying until charred enhances the ability to cool the blood and stop bleeding, and is preferred for heat-toxin dysentery with blood in the stool.
Distillate (Jin Yin Hua Lu)
Parts: Fresh flower bud
A steam distillate of the fresh flower used as a light, fragrant preparation to clear summer-heat and mild heat-toxin, taken as a cooling beverage.
Clinical Studies
Lonicera japonica Thunb.: Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of an important traditional Chinese medicine
Authoritative review documenting the antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, hepatoprotective and antioxidant pharmacology of Lonicera japonica and correlating chlorogenic acid, luteolin and iridoid constituents with its traditional heat-clearing, toxin-resolving indications.
Inhibitory Activity of Honeysuckle Extracts against Influenza A Virus In Vitro and In Vivo
Demonstrated that honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) extracts inhibited influenza A virus replication in cell culture and reduced viral load and improved survival in infected mice, providing mechanistic support for its traditional use against febrile respiratory illness.
Historical Texts
Ming Yi Bie Lu (Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians), attrib. Tao Hongjing
Southern-Northern dynasties, c. 500 CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1578References
- Shang X, Pan H, Li M, Miao X, Ding H. Lonicera japonica Thunb.: Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of an important traditional Chinese medicine . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2011) [DOI]
- Li M, Wang Y, Jin J, Dou J, Guo Q, Ke X, Zhou C, Guo M. Inhibitory Activity of Honeysuckle Extracts against Influenza A Virus In Vitro and In Vivo . Virologica Sinica (2020) [DOI]
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, Vol. I - Jinyinhua (Lonicerae Japonicae Flos) . China Medical Science Press (2020) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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