Xia Sang Ju, also spelled xiasangju, is a kind of Chinese herbal drink made by soups cooked from dried leaves of Heal-all (''Xia'', ''

Prunella vulgaris ''Prunella vulgaris'', the common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort or blue curls, is a herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. Description ''Prunella vulgaris'' grows high, with creeping, s ...

'') and

White mulberry White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

(''Sang'', ''

Morus alba Morus may refer to: People * Alexander Morus (1616–1670), Franco-Scottish Protestant preacher * Henryk Moruś (1943–2013), Polish serial killer * Huw Morus (1622–1709), Welsh poet * Thomas More or Morus (1478–1535), English philosopher * M ...

''), as well as a kind of dried yellow sweet chrysanthemum (''Ju'', ''

Chrysanthemum indicum ''Chrysanthemum indicum'' is a flowering plant commonly called Indian chrysanthemum, within the family Asteraceae and genus ''Chrysanthemum''. Description ''Chrysanthemum indicum'' grows up to tall and across. It usually blooms from August to ...

'', ). Such a drink originated from a famous herbal-drink formula in

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

called ''Sang Ju drink'' () for expelling an epidemic spread in East China in 1814. It is easily available in East Asia or Asian groceries as a box of ready-to-drink small packets. Research has been done on the lipid-soluble and water-soluble components of the herbal drinks by

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status, and the firs ...

. They found that such ingredients can help to prevent the spread of

H5N1 Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus, which causes the disease avian influenza (often referred to as "bird flu"). It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, and also panzoo ...

and the

common cold The common cold, or the cold, is a virus, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the Respiratory epithelium, respiratory mucosa of the human nose, nose, throat, Paranasal sinuses, sinuses, and larynx. ...

. Clinical tests are expected to start in 2010.

References

Herbal teas Traditional Chinese medicine {{nonalcoholic-drink-stub

See also

References