HERBAL MONOGRAPHS HONEYSUCKLE/ 399made with the flowers have been used as a gargle for oral
and pharyngeal inflammation.PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction
with the proper administration of designated therapeutic
dosages.DOSAGE
Mode of Administration: Administered internally as a
mucilage for respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tract
discomforts and diseases, and to relieve fever and thirst.
External applications include use for skin inflammations and
ulcers. Infusions and decoctions, often with added herbs, are
used as a gargle for oral and pharyngeal inflammation.How Supplied: Whole, cut and powdered drug.Preparation: To prepare as a tea, use 1 to 2 g of the drug per
teacup. For a mouthwash, boil 1.5 g drug with 100 ml water.LITERATURE
Hansel R, Keller K, Rimpler H, Schneider G (Hrsg.). Hagers
Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis. 5. Autl., Bde 4-6
(Drogen), Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1992-
1994 (unter Alcea rosea).
Steinegger E, Hansel R, Pharmakognosie, 5. Autl, Springer
Verlag Heidelberg 1992 (unter Alcea rosea).
Teuscher E, Biogene Arzneimittel, 5. Aufl., Wiss. Verlagsges.
Stuttgart 1997.Honeysuckle
Lonicera caprifolium
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the flowers, the
seeds and the leaves.Flower and Fruit: The flowers are in sixes directly on the
upper leaf pair. There are sometimes whorls of 6 in the next
1 or 2 leaf pairs. The corolla has a tight, 25 to 28 mm long
tube, and a bilabiate margin. It is yellowish-white, often red-
tinged, glabrous inside and glandular outside. The ovary is
jug-shaped. The fruit is a berry. They are ellipsoid, 8 mm
long and coral red. The seeds are ellipsoid, flattened,
longitudinally grooved and 4 mm long.Leaves, Stem and Root: Honeysuckle is an up to 4 m high,
deciduous, clockwise-climbing shrub. The foliage leaves are
short-petioled, elliptical or obovate, blunt, entire, glabrous,
blue-green beneath and 4 to 10 cm by 3.5 to 6 cm. The
leaves are shortly fused in pairs, but the upper ones are fused
to an oval or circular leaf through which the stem grows.
They are short-petioled and elliptical. The lower leaves are
paired.Habitat: The plant grows in the northern temperate zones as
far as the northern edges of the subtropics and is cultivated
extensively.Production: Honeysuckle flowers and leaves are from
Lonicera caprifolium.Other Names: Goat's Leaf, Woodbine
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
SaponinsFurther constituents are largely unknown; iridoide monoter-
penes have been demonstrated in the rind including among
others loganin (extremely bitter), that possibly also occurs in
the drug.
EFFECTS
The main active principles are saponin and luteolin. The
drug has a laxative and diaphoretic effect.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Unproven Uses: The drug is used for digestive disorders,
malignant tumors and as a diaphoretic agent. It is rarely used
today.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction
with the proper administration of designated therapeutic
dosages.
OVERDOSAGE
Because of the saponin content, irritation of the gastrointesti-
nal tract and possibly of the kidneys, urinary passages and
urinary bladder are possible in the event of overdosage. Case
studies are not known. (The berries of the red honeysuckle
are considered poisonous. Intakes above 10 berries are said
to trigger nausea, vomiting and tachycardia, elevated body
temperature, exanthemas and cyanosis.)
DOSAGE
Mode of Administration: The drug is obsolete.
LITERATURE
Frohne D, Pfander HJ, Giftpflanzen - Ein Handbuch fur
Apotheker, Toxikologen und Biologen, 4. Aufl., Wiss. Verlags-
Ges Stuttgart 1997.
Kern W, List PH, Horhammer L (Hrsg.), Hagers Handbuch der
Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 4. Aufl., Bde. 1-8, Springer Verlag
Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1969.
Roth L, Daunderer M, Kormann K, Giftpflanzen, Pflanzengifte,- Aufl., Ecomed Fachverlag Landsberg Lech 1993.
Teuscher E, Lindequist U, Biogene Gifte - Biologie, Chemie,
Pharmakologie, 2. Aufl., Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1994.