The Medicinal Uses of Japanese Honeysuckle

Disclaimer. I am not a licensed health practitioner. This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible when there are no conventional alternatives. No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician. Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care. A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment. 

When I was a child, the elementary school I attended in Southern California had a massive honeysuckle plant whose vines covered the entire fence. And every spring a friend and I would wander down there during recess to suck the nectar. The joy I received from that experience would be reason enough to plant this shrub. The fact that it can be used in so many ways medicinally provides added support for using it in landscaping. But note that it many areas it is considered an invasive weed. I wish that were the case here, well, I wish it would spread and propagate so easily.

Medicinally, honeysuckle is an alternative to goldenseal; it's used like Forsythia suspensa and often in conjunction with it to achieve a stronger effect. It's quite an amazing medicinal herb and ranks in the top fifty in Chinese herbal medicine. It's been used throughout history to treat problems with:

• muscles and joints;
• skin (inflammation, infectious rashes, sores, carbuncles, abscesses, chickenpox);
• upper respiratory tract (colds, sore throat, mouth sores, influenza, pneumonia, strep throat, tuberculosis);
• intestines (diarrhea, dysentery, Crohn's disease, salmonella);
• communicable diseases (mumps, measles, hepatitis);
• kidneys (lowering blood glucose levels in type-2 diabetes);
• circulation (blood pressure, cholesterol);
• eyes (conjunctivitis, keratitis, corneal ulcers). 

That's quite a list. It has been shown effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli.

Parts used: Flowers, leaves, and stems.

Time to harvest: Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) blossoms are picked in the spring and early summer. The leaves are harvested mid- to late summer. And the stems are harvested in the autumn and winter. When harvesting flowers, choose fully formed blossoms that are about to open. Older, completely opened flowers may not be as medicinally active as younger blooms. In fact, smaller, tightly closed buds are stronger than older flowers. Spread the flowers, leaves, or stems out on drying racks and dry until crispy. Store dried honeysuckle parts separately in opaque, airtight containers in a cool, dark place.

Honeysuckle is used in numerous ways to treat scores of illnesses.

Food: First off, honeysuckle flowers and leaves can be eaten just as food, without any medicinal intention. Or medicinally, for intestinal problems.

• Flowers
• Young honeysuckle flowers and buds are eaten 
• Stir-fry slightly for treating diarrhea 
• Make into syrup 
• Leaves 
• Stir-fry or boil and eat like spinach

Infusion:

• Flowers alone: Boil 1 cup water and pour over one tablespoon dried honeysuckle flowers. Let steep 10 minutes. (Add honey to tea for treating any upper respiratory infections.) Use for:
• headache 
• strep 
• tuberculosis 
• intestinal infections 
• diarrhea and gastroenteritis, especially due to Salmonella food poisoning 
• bacterial dysentery 
• gastric ulcers 
• nausea and vomiting 
• hepatitis C 
• syphilitic skin diseases and tumors 
• pain and swelling 
• Flowers and stems 
• dysentery 
• pneumonia 
• Stems 
• acute rheumatoid arthritis,
• mumps and 
• hepatitis 
• Leaves 
• gargle for sore throat 
• mouthwash for canker sores 
• Flowers and leaves 
• chickenpox 
• Flowers, along with cowslip, elecampane, or mulberry 
• coughs 
• mild asthma 

Decoction:

• Flowers
• Influenza A (H1N1, H5N1, H7N9). The study was done on mice and this is the formula they used: boil 10 grams of honeysuckle in 100 ml of water for 30 minutes to produce 50 ml of decoction. I could not find how often the decoction was administered.  This same decoction may prove useful in treating Ebola. 
• Stems and branches 
• dysentery 
• feverish colds 
• rheumatoid arthritis, acute stage (best when combined with other herbs). Recommended dosage is from 10 to 20 grams in decoction or capsules.
• mumps 
• hepatitis 
• influenza, especially for joint pain 
• Bark, made in a ratio of 1 part grated bark to 7 parts water 
• gout 
• kidney stones 
• liver problems

Poultice: This can be made by crushing the whole plant into a pulp and applying directly to an inflamed or irritated areas or sores.

• Bites and stings;
• eyes, breast and throat.

Wash: Follow directions for making an infusion and use as a wash externally for:

• skin inflammation;
• infectious rashes 
• infected boils 
• eczema 
• skin allergies 
• poison ivy 
• sunburns and other minor burns 
• tumors, especially breast cancer 
• scabies 
• rheumatism

Tincture: 1:5 with 95% alcohol. Use the flower bud tincture for:

• diarrhea or gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning
• lower blood cholesterol 
• reduce blood pressure

Salve: A salve made with honeysuckle tincture can be used to treat:

• skin irritation and inflammation;
• wounds and accelerate healing

Contraindications: May slow blood clotting. Do not use two weeks prior to surgery. Honeysuckle is not for long-term use. Avoid during pregnancy and breast feeding, as well as if trying to conceive.

Other uses:

• Insecticide
• Vines used to make baskets 
• Fishing--hunting tribes put large quantities of Japanese honeysuckle in streams or lakes, etc., in order to stupefy or kill the fish 
• Food additive to increase growth of broiler chickens

For further information:
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-512/honeysuckle
https://www.nature.com/articles/cr2014130 (Chinese research article on anti-viral activity of honeysuckle against influenza A viruses--H1N1, H5N1, H7N9--in mice. Researchers boiled 10 grams of honeysuckle in 100 ml of water for 30 minutes to produce 50 ml decoction.)
https://www.sciencealert.com/honeysuckle-tea-can-treat-influenza-a-viruses-and-possibly-ebola
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577469/ (wound repair and antimicrobial activity)
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/honeysuckle-essential-oil.html
https://draxe.com/honeysuckle/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30296293
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26174209 (lowers blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes)
https://elmaskincare.com/herbs/herbs_honeysuckle.htm

6 may 2019