A honey-refined "runfei zhi-ke" (moisten the lung and stop cough) syrup from the 1969 Pharmacopoeia, widely sold over the counter in Chinese pharmacies for dry, tickling cough.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Refined and standardized in the 1969 Pharmacopoeia of the PRC as a honey-prepared loquat syrup, becoming one of the iconic OTC cough formulas in mainland China. In Japan, similar loquat-based syrups and pastilles are sold by Ryukakusan (龍角散 / クラシエ) and Kracie (クラシエ) as "Ryukakusan-style" products. In Korean hanbang, the formula family is mirrored in Kyungdong's (경동) "loquat syrup" (과상등) range. It is, in short, one of the most cross-culturally reproduced cough formulas in East Asia.
In tradition
In TCM framing, traditionally used in the context of "dry-heat" or "lung-yin deficiency" cough, a dry, ticklish cough with little or no phlegm, hoarseness, dry throat, a sensation of heat in the palms and soles, and discomfort that worsens at night. It is one of the most common "household" formulas in mainland Chinese pharmacies, often taken at the first sign of a long-lasting night-time cough. Similar loquat-and-honey syrups (類似品) appear in the Japanese Ryukakusan (龍角散) product family and in Korean hanbang "loquat syrup" lines from Kyungdong.
Formula composition
Monarch1
- Loquat leaf (Pí Pá Yè / 枇杷叶) - the principal herb, moistens the lung
Other ingredients9
- Fritillaria thunbergii bulb (Zhè Bèi Mǔ / 浙贝母) - clears heat, transforms phlegm
- Coltsfoot flower (Kuǎn Dōng Huā / 款冬花) - stops cough
- Stemona root (Bǎi Bù / 百部) - moistens the lung, stops cough
- Platycodon root (Jié Gěng / 桔梗) - guides lung qi, expels phlegm
- Menthol (Bò Hé Nǎo / 薄荷脑) - opens the orifices, soothes the throat
- Honey-frying base (Mì Liàn / 蜜炼) - moistens, carries the formula
- Poppy capsule (Yīng Sù Qiào / 罂粟壳) - astringes the lung, stops cough
- Mulberry root bark (Sāng Bái Pí / 桑白皮) - drains the lung, calms asthma
- Tangerine peel (Chén Pí / 陈皮) - regulates qi, transforms phlegm
International availability
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC強力枇杷膏Qiang Li Pi Pa Gao
Cautions & context
- Contains small amounts of menthol, generally not recommended for infants and very young children, as menthol can affect airway reflexes in this age group.
- People with diabetes are typically advised to use with caution, the honey-refined base is high in sugar.
- Not appropriate for cough with profuse white, watery phlegm (a "cold-phlegm" pattern), the formula is described as moistening, not warming.
- Cough lasting more than two weeks, or accompanied by blood, fever, or weight loss, should be evaluated by a clinician rather than self-addressed with OTC syrups.
Related formulas
Other formulas from this text· "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China"
Other formulas by this contributor· Pharmacopoeia Commission of the PRC
Related concerns
Concern · immune
Immune Support
The everyday language of "wanting to stay well", a sense of being run down, the change of seasons, occasional mouth ulcers, the slow recovery after a cold.
Concern · sleep
Sleep
Difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, dream-disturbed sleep, and the "tired but cannot switch off" pattern that follows overwork or worry.
Editorial note
Compiled from "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" (1969).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 100 years · "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" (1969)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Nourish yin and astringe the lung, suppress cough and resolve phlegm. Used for chronic cough with fatigue-type consumption and bronchitis."
Modern research status
As of 2026-07-18, a PubMed search using the formula name and the Latin / Korean / Japanese transliterations together with "systematic review" and "meta-analysis" did not identify a dedicated systematic review for this formula. Any clinical evidence that does exist is fragmented across small individual trials or covered in broad herbal-medicine umbrella reviews, which do not allow a per-formula evidence assessment; the absence of a dedicated SR is itself the relevant editorial fact here.
References
References reviewed on July 18, 2026 · PubMed search on 2026-07-18
- 01PharmacopoeiaChinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, 《中华人民共和国药典》 2020 edition, vol. 1 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Yàodiǎn, Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 ed., vol. 1), China Medical Science Press, 2020, the official national monograph for Qiáng Lì Pí Pá Gāo (蜜炼剂 / Strong Loquat Syrup, honey-refined), "functional indication" reads "nourish yin and astringe the lung, suppress cough and resolve phlegm. Used for chronic cough with fatigue-type consumption and bronchitis", the formula being the flagship honey-refined loquat syrup standardized in the 1969 Pharmacopoeia and re-confirmed in each subsequent edition through 2020.
- 02TextbookGao Xuemin (高学敏) et al. (eds.), 《中药学》 (Zhōngyào Xué / Science of Chinese Materia Medica), 1st edition, People's Medical Publishing House, 2002, the standard national textbook of Chinese-medicine higher education in mainland China, with Qiáng Lì Pí Pá Gāo analysed in the "化痰止咳平喘剂 / phlegm-transforming, cough-stopping, wheeze-leveling formulas" chapter as a representative modern honey-refined loquat formula, with explicit discussion of the "养阴敛肺 / nourish yin and astringe the lung" approach, the Fritillaria thunbergii (Zhè Bèi Mǔ) clearing-heat mechanism, and the classical contraindications for cold-phlegm patterns.
- 03TextbookZhonghua Bencao Editorial Committee (中华本草编委会), 《中华本草》 (Zhōnghuá Běncǎo / Chinese Materia Medica Compendium), Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, 1999, the most comprehensive modern TCM-materia-medica compendium in mainland China (30 volumes, 8980 monographs), with a dedicated monograph on Qiáng Lì Pí Pá Gāo and cross-references to each of its 7 component ingredients, providing the standard scholarly reference for the honey-refined loquat-syrup family and its "dry-heat / lung-yin deficiency" indications.