Datura Flower

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Relieves cough and dyspnea - Yang Jin Hua is used for difficult cough and wheezing, especially when spasm and obstruction make breathing tight and hard to ease with gentler herbs.
• Alleviates pain - it has a strong pain-relieving reputation for chest, abdominal, traumatic, and wind-damp pain and was historically valued for its numbing effect.
• Stops spasm - traditional use extends to epilepsy, chronic convulsions, and muscular spasm patterns where a potent antispasmodic herb is required.

Secondary Actions

• Yang Jin Hua is a toxic specialist herb used in extremely small doses, not an everyday respiratory or pain herb.
• Traditional administration includes powder, smoking, and external use, which reflects its strong and fast-acting nature as much as its safety burden.

Classic Formulas

• Zheng Gu Ma Yao Fang - a classic anesthetic and pain-relieving formula in which Yang Jin Hua is paired with strongly moving herbs for traumatic pain.
• Powdered or smoked Yang Jin Hua for stubborn wheezing - traditional minute-dose use when other antitussives have failed to relax the bronchial spasm.
• Yang Jin Hua with Tian Ma, Quan Xie, and Tian Nan Xing - a traditional spasm-stopping combination for convulsive disorders.

Classical References

• Traditional texts describe Yang Jin Hua as acrid, warm, and toxic, entering the Lung and Liver to stop wheezing, relieve pain, and arrest spasm.
• Its long history as an anesthetic-adjacent herb explains both its dramatic clinical reputation and the strict classical emphasis on tiny dosing.
• Older cautions specifically warn against use in pregnancy, weakness, glaucoma, hypertension, tachycardia, and heat-phlegm cough patterns.