Common Traditional Chinese Medicine
Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae (Chuanbei)
The medical nature of Chuanbei is mildly sweet and its flavor is mildly bitter. It can remove heat, nourish the lungs and eliminate phelgm and coughs. It is commonly used to treat sore throats, dry coughs, heatiness in the lungs, blood-stained phelgm as well as chronic or acute tracheitis, upper respiratory tract infection and coughs caused by pulmonary tuberculosis.
Eriobotrya Japonica (Loquat)
In traditional Chinese medicine literature , ‘Loquat' usually means ‘loquat leaf'. The Loquat fruit is sweet while the leaves are bitter-pungent. Loquat leaves eliminate phelgm, relieve coughs, and neutralize the upward perversion of stomach qi. They are also useful for treating coughs due to the heatiness in the lungs, coughs casued by dry-heat and heatiness in the stomaches.
Loquat leaves contain saponin which can relieve coughs and lubricate air passages. While preparing the Chinese medicine soup, the hairs on the Loquat leaves have to be completely removed completely. The leaves also need to be wrapped in white cloth to prevent throat irritation.
Honey Extract  Sugars are the major constituents of a honey extract. It is made up of 80-90% fructose and glucose, and includes minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Honey is sweet and contains no toxic substance. It is mainly used to combat evil influences in the heart and abdomen. Honey can improve digestion, enhance appetite, soothe the nerves, improve the quality of sleep, and boost the body's immunity.
Bean curds and honey should not be eaten together because gypsum is added when making bean curds. Mixing gypsum and honey will lead to the formation of solids and can lead to indigestion.
Radix Platycodonis (Platycodon root)
The nature of Platycodon root is pungent and its flavor is mildly warm. It can be used to treat coughs with phlegm, sore throats and fullness over the chest. It is also quite effective for treating bronchitis, lung abscess and pleurisy.
Citrum Reticulata (Mandarin orange)
Mandarin oranges have sour, sweet and warm flavors. They are high in vitamins, calcium, phosphorous, iron, protein and carbohydrates. The fruit peels can help to dissolve phlegm, relieve coughs and soothe throats. Mandarin oranges can also quench thirst, freshen breathe and improve digestion.
Menthol
The nature of menthol is cool and has a pungent flavor. It can induce sweat, remove heat, detoxify, clear the liver and alleviate depression. A small amount of menthol can stimulate the central nervous system and cause the capillary vessels on the skin to dilate, thereby inducing sweat.
Exocarpium Citrl Grandis (Huajuhong)
Huajuhong is the dried exocarp of unripe or almost ripe citrus fruits. Its nature is warm and its flavor is pungent-bitter. It can be used to ease breathing, eliminate the phlegm, strengthen the stomach, disperse coldness and remove heat and dampness. Huajuhong is useful for treating coughs, nausea, vomiting, fullness over the chest, influenza, sore throats, bronchitis, abdominal pains, weak appetite and indigestion.
Radix Glycyrrhizae (Chinese Licorice root)
The nature of Chinese Licorice root is pungent and its flavor is neutral. Chinese Licorice root is usually used with other Chinese medicine and can be used to nourish the spleen and stomach, relieve coughs, eliminate phlegm and neutralize the toxicity of medicine. It is suitable for symptoms such as energy deficiency, weak spleen and stomach, coughs, dyspnea and sore throat.
Forsythia (Lianqiao)
The nature of Lianqiao is bitter and its flavor is mildly cold. It can remove heat, detoxify, reduce swelling, expel stagnation, prevent inflammation, nourish the liver, promote urination and reduce blood pressure. It is mainly used for warm-heat pathogen diseases, diseases caused by external factors, wind-heat syndrome and sore throat and wind-heat influenza due to different heat toxins.
Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle)
The nature of honeysuckle is mildly cold and its flavor is sweet. It can clear away heat, detoxify, eliminate inflammation, promote urination, clear the blood and kill bacteria. It is mainly used for fever and sensitivity to coldness due to external factors and wind-heat.
Radix Bupleuri (Chaihu)
The nature of Chaihu is mildly sour and its flavor is bitter-pungent. It can induce sweat, reduce fever, harmonize the liver and alleviate depression. It is suitable for influenza, fever, chills, chest pain and can enhance the liver's ability to synthesize proteins and repair damaged liver tissues.
Radix Puerariae Lobatae (Root of the Kudzu Vine)
The nature of the root of the Kudzu Vine is cold and its flavor is sweet-pungent. It can ease muscle aches, reduce heat, act as an expectorant, enhance the ‘yang', let eruptions out, stop diarrhea and detoxify the alcohol consumed. It is suitable for wind coldness, headache, neck and back pains caused by exogenous factors and wind-heat. It can also nourish heart muscles, dilate blood vessels, improve blood circulation, and prevent blood deficiency in heart muscles, thus helping to prevent arrhythmia, high blood pressure, coronary heart diseases and the hardening of the arteries.
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