Jiinshihoto
Quick Facts
- What it is: A 13-herb Japanese Kampo formula, handled as a single licensed medicine, used for a lingering weak cough with night sweats and low fever in a run-down person.
- Main uses: Long-lasting dry cough after illness, Night sweats with a chronic cough, Low-grade evening fever with exhaustion
- Best for: A thin or frail adult whose dry cough has hung on for weeks, People already under medical review for a cough who want a traditional add-on
- Active ingredients: Toki (Japanese angelica root), Shakuyaku (peony root), Byakujutsu (atractylodes), Bukuryo (poria), Chinpi (citrus peel), Saiko (bupleurum root), Chimo (anemarrhena), Kobushi (cyperus), Jikoppi (goji root bark), Bakumondo (ophiopogon), Baimo (fritillaria), Hakka (mint), Kanzo (licorice root)
- Forms: Extract granules or powder in sachets, Extract tablets or capsules, Traditional simmered decoction
- Time to effect: Tradition expects gradual change over one to two weeks; this has never been measured in a trial.
- Side effects: Usually mild stomach upset or rash; the licorice can raise blood pressure, cause swelling and lower potassium, and liver or lung reactions are rare but serious.
Track this remedy in the app
Track Jiinshihoto with reminders and record whether it helped, in the app.
What is Jiinshihoto?
Jiinshihoto is a Japanese Kampo herbal formula used for a cough that has dragged on for weeks in someone who is run-down. It is also given when that cough comes with night sweats, a low fever in the afternoon, tiredness and weight loss. The name is usually translated as Yin-Nourishing Supreme Treasure Decoction.
Single drug (Kampo). That means it is handled in Japan as one licensed medicine with a fixed recipe of 13 herbs, not a blend you put together yourself or adjust herb by herb.
In Kampo it is chosen for a weak, dry, tickly cough in a thin or frail person, often after a chest infection or a long illness. It is not meant for a sudden cough with thick phlegm and a strong constitution.
Where the evidence stands: this formula has a long and steady place in Kampo practice, but we could not find published human trials of it. Traditional standing and proof of effect are two different things, and long use does not by itself show that something works. That point is made here once and not repeated in every section below.
How does Jiinshihoto work?
The honest answer is that nobody has shown in people how, or whether, Jiinshihoto works.
In Kampo theory the formula "nourishes yin" — the traditional idea of restoring the body's fluids and reserves after they have been drained by long illness. A dry cough, night sweats and evening fever are read as signs of that dryness, and the mixture is meant to moisten and settle them.
In modern terms, several of the herbs have been looked at in the laboratory and in animals. Ophiopogon root and fritillaria bulb have been studied for effects on coughing, licorice for soothing irritated airways, and bupleurum for effects on inflammation. None of this is the same as showing that the finished formula helps a person with a cough.
Treat any mechanism story here as a hypothesis, not a finding.
What forms does Jiinshihoto come in?
Almost everyone takes it as a dried extract powder or granule, sold in single-dose sachets.
The common forms are:
Granules or fine powder of the standardised extract, the usual prescription and pharmacy form in Japan.
Tablets or capsules made from the same extract, for people who dislike the taste.
A traditional decoction, where the raw sliced herbs are simmered in water and the liquid is drunk. This is now uncommon outside specialist practice.
Strength varies between makers, so the number of grams on one box does not transfer to another.
Where it comes from:
The recipe comes from Chinese medicine, not from Japan. It appears in the Ming dynasty text Wanbing Huichun (1587), known in Japan as Manbyo Kaishun, compiled by Gong Tingxian.
Japanese practitioners took it into Kampo, where it settled into a defined role: the lingering cough of a weakened person. It is listed among Japan's approved Kampo prescriptions and is supplied by the main extract manufacturers.
So its traditional standing is real and documented, but it belongs mainly to one tradition rather than to many.
Who should avoid Jiinshihoto?
- Do not use if you have aldosteronism (a hormone condition that raises blood pressure and lowers potassium).
- Do not use if you have hypokalaemia (low potassium in your blood).
- Do not use if you have myopathy (a muscle disease causing weakness), including weakness caused by licorice before.
- Do not use if you are receiving interferon injections for hepatitis or cancer.
- Do not use if you have cirrhosis (a badly scarred liver) or liver cancer, unless a doctor is directing your treatment.
- Do not use if you have heart failure, kidney disease, or high blood pressure that is not under control, unless your doctor agrees and monitors you.
- Do not use if you take water tablets (diuretics), digoxin, or steroid tablets, unless your doctor has checked the combination and your potassium level.
- Do not use if you already take another Kampo formula or supplement containing kanzo (licorice), unless a pharmacist has added up your total licorice dose.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, because safety has not been established.
- Do not use if you plan to give it to a child, unless a doctor has prescribed it for that child.
- Do not use if you have ever reacted badly to any herb in this formula.
- Do not use it as a substitute for having a cough that has lasted more than three weeks properly investigated.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop taking it and see a doctor the same day if your ankles, face or hands swell, you put on weight quickly, or your muscles feel weak, crampy or numb. These can be signs that the licorice has dropped your potassium.
Get urgent medical help if you become breathless, your dry cough suddenly gets worse, or you develop a fever after starting it. Rarely, Kampo formulas containing bupleurum have caused inflammation of the lung tissue.
See a doctor promptly if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow, your urine goes dark, or you feel unusually exhausted, as these can point to liver injury.
Book an appointment anyway if you are coughing blood, losing weight without trying, sweating through your bedclothes at night, or your cough has lasted more than three weeks. Those need a diagnosis, not a herbal remedy.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
4.8
