Formulas that release the exterior
Yin qiao san
Honeysuckle and Forsythia Powder
- Chinese name
- 银翘散
- Group
- Formulas that release the exterior
- English name
- Lonicera and Forsythia Combination
- Basic formula
- ✓
Diaphoretic and cooling: expels external wind-heat and cools internal heat and 'toxin'.
Indications
For upper respiratory infections, colds and flu with fever and few or no chills, headache, thirst, cough, sore throat and acute bronchitis. The book also mentions measles, mumps and the onset of encephalitis or meningitis.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | Amount |
|---|---|
| Honeysuckle flower (jin yin hua) | 9–15 g |
| Lian qiao (forsythia) | 9–15 g |
| Platycodon root (jie geng) | 3–6 g |
| Burdock seed (niu bang zi) | 9–12 g |
| Mint (bo he) | 3–6 g |
| Jing jie (schizonepeta) | 6–9 g |
| Fermented black soybean (dan dou chi) | 3–6 g |
| Dan zhu ye (lophatherum) | 3–6 g |
| Reed rhizome (lu gen) | 15–30 g |
| Licorice root (gan cao) | 3–6 g |
- Tongue
- red tip with a thin white or yellow coating
- Pulse
- rapid and superficial
Variations
- For a severe cold or flu: add 9–12 g qiang huo and 20–30 g woad root.
Note
From the 'Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases' (Wen bing tiao bian). Originally the reed rhizome was boiled until it smelled strongly, and the other herbs were taken as a 9 g powder with that decoction. If you boil the formula, add the mint only in the last five minutes. Nowadays also available as a patent pill.