Basic Introduction to Nanjing Honeysuckle
Nanjing honeysuckle is a variety of the Chinese medicinal herb honeysuckle, a specialty of Nan County, Sichuan Province. Due to the county's unique geographical and climatic conditions that are particularly suitable for the growth of honeysuckle, the product has high effective components and good quality, making it very popular. The product has been included in the list of China's national geographic indication products for protection.
Nutritional Value
Cold in nature and sweet in taste; it enters the lung and stomach meridians; it clears heat and detoxifies, dispels wind-heat. It is used as the primary treatment for carbuncles and furuncles at their initial stages, redness, swelling, and pain, external contraction of wind-heat, onset of febrile diseases, heat-toxic bloody dysentery, summer heat and thirst, sore throat. Honeysuckle contains isochlorogenic acid, loganin, luteolin, chlorogenic acid, inositol, and other components, and is rich in volatile oils, with the main components of the oil being bisabolol and linalool.
Product Characteristics
Nanjing honeysuckle is rich in chlorogenic acid, luteoloside, linalool, and more than 30 other volatile oils and triterpenoids, and over 10 kinds of inorganic elements. Tests have shown that the chlorogenic acid content in Nanjing honeysuckle is generally around 5.5%, reaching up to 12.3%, which is more than twice that of other varieties sampled at the same time from within and outside the province. Nanjing honeysuckle has broad-spectrum antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing properties, as well as hepatoprotective, hypotensive, lipid-lowering, immune-enhancing effects, and can prolong life, making it one of the commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs. Nanjing honeysuckle tea products produced using high-quality Nanjing honeysuckle as raw material have a greenish color, sweet (slightly returning sweetness) taste, natural, high-quality, good mouthfeel, bright infusion, beautiful flower shape, and are commonly used as natural health drinks.
History and Folklore
In folk legends, honeysuckle is known as the flower of love. Legend has it that long ago, a scholar met a wealthy young lady, and they fell in love at first sight. They arranged frequent meetings under the servant girl's arrangement. One day, while strolling in the garden, they discovered a flower that bloomed in pairs and had a particularly fragrant scent. Touched by the scene, they pledged their love by pointing to the flowers and secretly decided to spend the rest of their lives together. Unfortunately, when the young lady's parents found out, they disapproved of the match due to the scholar's humble background and insisted on separating them. Knowing the truth, the scholar worked hard and eventually passed the imperial examination as the top candidate, and married the young lady through proper channels, allowing the lovers to be united. From then on, they planted the flowers that symbolized their love throughout their yard. This flower was honeysuckle. A poem reads: “Heaven and earth gently nurture the long summer days, the gold and silver treasures are the union of mandarin ducks, the mountain vows do not change with the wind and frost, everywhere their hearts are in unison, year after year they are fragrant.” Therefore, people also call it the “mandarin duck flower.”
Production Method of Nanjing Honeysuckle
1. Preparation of Main Ingredients: To make Nanjing honeysuckle tea, 70% of the main ingredient should be fine tea. Fresh tea leaves, consisting of one bud and two leaves or one bud and three leaves, are harvested and processed according to the method for green tea.
Authenticity Identification
The better the quality of honeysuckle, the better its medicinal efficacy and higher its value, so it is necessary to learn how to identify it. Let's take a look at how to differentiate between different qualities of honeysuckle.
The national standard for honeysuckle commodities is divided into four grades:
First Grade: The product is dry, the flower buds are shaped like a cup, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, with a green-white surface. The corolla is thick and somewhat hard, giving a slight prickly feeling when held. It has a clear and fragrant aroma and tastes sweet with a slight bitterness. Opened flowers, broken buds, and yellow strips do not exceed 5%. There are no black strips, black heads, branches, leaves, impurities, insect damage, or mold.
Second Grade: Essentially the same as the first grade, except that the percentage of opened flowers does not exceed 5%. Broken buds and yellow strips do not exceed 10%.
Third Grade: The product is dry, the flower buds are shaped like a stick, thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, slightly curved, with a green-white or yellow-white surface. The corolla is thick and firm, giving a slight prickly feeling when held. It has a clear and fragrant aroma and tastes sweet with a slight bitterness. Opened flowers and black heads do not exceed 30%. There are no branches, leaves, impurities, insect damage, or mold.
Fourth Grade: The product is dry, containing both flower buds and opened flowers, without color distinction. Branches and leaves do not exceed 3%, with no impurities, insect damage, or mold. Only by knowing how to identify honeysuckle can you ensure purchasing high-quality honeysuckle, thus better treating illnesses.
Awards and Honors
In the 1970s, the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives convened a field conference in Xingma Town, known as the hometown of Chinese honeysuckle, bringing Nanjing honeysuckle great renown across China. In May 1981, during the “National Honeysuckle Production Conference” held in Yuanyang County, Henan Province, Nan County was designated as a “National Honeysuckle Production Base County.” In October 1999, the Sichuan Modernization Science and Technology Industry Base Coordination Leadership Group designated Nan County as the first demonstration base for the production of high-quality, non-polluted cultivation technique standards (SOP) honeysuckle. Nanjing honeysuckle entered a new phase of leapfrog development. In January 2001, Nan County was officially approved by the Sichuan Modernization Science and Technology Industry Base Coordination Leadership Group as the “Nanjing Science and Technology Demonstration Zone for Standardized Cultivation of Honeysuckle.” In July 2001, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine listed Nanjing honeysuckle as an agricultural standardization demonstration project, which passed inspection in July 2004. In February 2002, Nan County was awarded the title of “First Batch of High-Quality Honeysuckle Bases in Sichuan Province” by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture. In 2002, Nanjing honeysuckle tea won the title of “Famous and Superior Agricultural Product” at the Sichuan-China Western International Agriculture Expo. In 2004, it was selected to participate in the “FOOD·JAPAN – International Food Expo” and the “China-Japan Green Food Trade Negotiations.” In April 2005, Nanjing honeysuckle passed the certification for the protection of its place of origin. In December 2005, it received a silver award at the Second Sichuan-China Western International Agriculture Expo. In June 2007, the trademark “Nanjing Honeysuckle” was officially registered by the State Trademark Office.