Yijintang
Quick Facts
- What it is: Yijintang is a classical Korean herb mix of aged pinellia and aged citrus peel with poria, licorice and ginger, used for wet cough and a queasy, full stomach.
- Main uses: Wet cough with phlegm, Nausea and vomiting, Full, heavy feeling in the chest and stomach
- Best for: Short-term use for a loose, phlegmy cough, Short-term queasiness with a heavy stomach
- Active ingredients: Pinellia alkaloids and lectins, Hesperidin, Limonene, Pachyman, Glycyrrhizin, Gingerols
- Forms: Loose herbs for tea (decoction), Granules, Powder, Capsules, Ready-made liquid
- Time to effect: Tradition says a few days for nausea and one to two weeks for cough, but this is not backed by trials.
- Side effects: Mostly dry mouth and stomach upset; the licorice can raise blood pressure and lower potassium with longer use.
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What is Yijintang?
Yijintang is a herb mix used in Korean traditional medicine. The name means "two aged decoction." Healers gave it for a wet cough, a heavy or full chest, and a queasy stomach.
It is not one herb. It blends aged pinellia root and aged citrus peel with poria, licorice and fresh ginger. The two "aged" herbs give the mix its name.
Long use does not prove that a remedy works. The record of use here is strong, but the human trial evidence is weak. We found no large, good quality trial in people that we can point to.
How does Yijintang work?
In old Korean medicine, the mix is said to dry "damp phlegm" and settle the stomach. That is a traditional idea, not a lab finding.
Lab and animal work gives a few hints. Citrus peel and ginger may calm the gut and ease nausea. Licorice may soothe a sore, irritated throat.
We do not know if these effects hold in people at tea-strength doses. No study has shown how the whole mix acts in the body.
What forms does Yijintang come in?
Most people take it as a hot tea. You simmer the cut herbs in water, then strain and drink the liquid.
It also comes as granules, powder, capsules or a ready-made drink. Granules melt in hot water. Products vary a lot in strength, so read the label.
Where it comes from:
The recipe first appears in a Chinese book of set formulas from 1107. Korean doctors took it up and used it widely.
Heo Jun listed it in the Donguibogam of 1613, a key Korean medical text. It is still one of the best known phlegm formulas in Korea, China and Japan.
Who should avoid Yijintang?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, as pinellia has long been avoided in pregnancy.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding.
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure that is not well controlled.
- Do not use if you have heart failure or a heart rhythm problem (an irregular heartbeat).
- Do not use if you have low potassium (hypokalaemia, a low level of an important blood salt).
- Do not use if you have kidney disease or liver disease.
- Do not use if you take digoxin (a heart drug) or water pills (diuretics), because the licorice can push your potassium dangerously low.
- Never chew or swallow raw, unprocessed pinellia root, which burns and swells the mouth and throat.
- Do not use if your cough is dry, or if you are coughing up blood. See a doctor instead.
- Do not give it to a child unless a qualified practitioner has told you to.
- Do not use if you are allergic to any of the herbs in it.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor if your cough lasts more than three weeks, or if you cough up blood, run a fever, or lose weight without trying.
Get medical help the same day if you feel very weak, get bad muscle cramps, notice your heartbeat racing or skipping, or your face, hands or ankles swell up. These can be signs that your potassium has dropped too low.
Go to an emergency department if your mouth, tongue or throat burns and swells after taking it, or if you struggle to breathe or swallow.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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