Honeysuckle Flower
Also known as- Lonicera spp, jin yin hua, lonicera.
Introduction
The fragrant yellow flowers of the honeysuckle vine are used in herbal medicine around the world for cleansing, consuming, and digesting„and the flowers of Lonicera japonica, or Japanese honeysuckle, have the added property of stimulating circulation to remove inflammation.
In Traditional Chinese medicine, honeysuckle flowers are among the important herbs for clearing heat and relieving toxicity. This herb relieves "fire toxicity" manifesting itself as hot, painful sores or swellings of the eyes, throat, or breast. It expels "wind-heat" manifesting itself as sore throat or headache after explore to cold. And it treats "damp heat" manifesting itself as bladder infection. Modern laboratory research has confirmed that the flowers have an inhibitory effect on the bacteria that cause salmonella, staph, strep, pseudomonas, and tuberculosis infections.
Constituents
Inositol, luteolin, tannins.
Parts Used
The dried flowers, harvested just before the bud opens. Some products used to treat boils and abscesses include honeysuckle bark.
Typical Preparations
Teas and tinctures. Traditionally combined with mint for rashes or outbreaks on the skin following nervous tension, and with scutellaria to treat boils.
Summary
Honeysuckle flowers act as natural antihistamine, although they are more useful for treating rashes and inflammation than for treating coughing and sneezing. Some Japanese health food products include honeysuckle for treating bloating, nausea, and vomiting caused by hepatitis C.
Precautions
Avoid when there is chronic diarrhea caused by cancer treatment, HIV, hepatitis C, or other chronic disease.
