Qiong Yu Gao琼玉膏
Jade Nectar Syrup
Ingredients4 herbs
Indications
Lung and Kidney yin deficiency with fluid exhaustion, a chronic depletion pattern rather than an acute one: the Lung has no moisture left to disperse, and the Spleen is too weak to make more without help.
Clinical Manifestations
- Chronic dry cough with little or no sputum
- Dry throat with occasional blood-streaked sputum
- Weight loss and shortness of breath in a depleted patient
- Convalescence after a long febrile or wasting illness
- Dryness of mouth and skin in the elderly
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Blood in the sputum — add E Jiao 阿胶 or Bai Ji
- Loose stool from a weak Spleen — reduce the honey and add Bai Zhu 白术
- Yin deficiency with afternoon heat — add Tian Men Dong 天门冬 or Di Gu Pi 地骨皮
- Ren Shen is unsuitable or unavailable — Dang Shen 党参 or Tai Zi Shen 太子参 may be used, though gently and with less lifting force
Contraindications
Stop or avoid during any acute illness — a cold, a fever, an infection — since a rich syrup holds the pathogen in. Unsuitable for cough with copious damp phlegm, for a weak damp middle burner with loose stool, and for anyone whose sugar intake is being managed, as the honey is a large part of the preparation. Honey must never be given to infants under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Generally compatible in pregnancy under practitioner judgment — there is nothing here that purges or moves blood. The practical cautions are its sweetness and richness, which matter if blood sugar or digestion is a concern.
Related Formulas
References
Source 申铁瓮方，录自《洪氏集验方》 · Southern Song
- Classical source (public domain) — 《洪氏集验方》, which records the formula as transmitted from 申铁瓮.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）治燥剂·滋阴润燥 — pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.