Honeysuckle, Reed Root, and Winter Melon Seed Decoction

Category: Herbal Tea

Herbal Tea Name: Honeysuckle, Reed Root, and Winter Melon Seed Decoction

Chinese Name: 银花芦根冬瓜仁饮

Formula

20 grams of honeysuckle, 30 grams of reed root, 30 grams of winter melon seeds, and 20 grams of white sugar.

Main Ingredients

How To Make

Soak the honeysuckle, reed root, and winter melon seeds in cold water for 30 minutes. Place them together in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid, stir in the white sugar, and it is ready to serve.

Efficacy

Clears the lungs and resolves phlegm. Suitable for chronic pulmonary heart disease characterized by phlegm-heat concealed in the lungs.

Usage

Take one dose in the morning and one in the evening.

Commentary

Taking honeysuckle (Jin-yin-hua) as the chief herb, the formula draws on its sweet flavor and cold property: it travels through the Lung, Heart, Stomach meridians and works to clear heat and remove toxins, disperse wind-heat. Reed root (Lu-gen) fills the deputy position, sweet-cold in property, acting through the Lung, Stomach meridians to clear heat, generate fluids and promote urination. Winter melon seeds (Dong-gua-zi) reinforce this deputy action, working to clear lung heat, transforms phlegm and expel pus. Finally, white sugar (Bai-tang) plays the envoy role, unifying the formula; its role is to moisten and harmonize the formula and coordinate the herbs. Working as one, the formula clear the lungs and resolve phlegm, thereby targeting the phlegm-heat and phlegm pattern that underlies the complaint.

Honeysuckle, Reed Root, and Winter Melon Seed Decoction，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Clears the lungs and resolves phlegm. Suitable for chronic pulmonary heart disease characterized by phlegm-heat concealed in the lungs.

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