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Forsythia

Forsythia is a plant whose fruit is used as a medicine.

Forsythia is used for a swelling of the smallest, cartilaginous bronchi (bronchioles) known as bronchiolitis, tonsillitis, sore throat, fever, vomiting, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, inflammatory pain and swelling, and erysipelas. Forsythia is sometimes administered intravenously in conjunction with other plant extracts to treat bronchiolitis.

How does forsythia work?

Forsythia may reduce inflammation. However, more research is needed to determine how forsythia might work.

How effective is forsythia?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of forsythia for bronchiolitis. New research suggests that children suffering from bronchiolitis due to a particular infection may overcome their symptoms more quickly if they are given a combination of forsythia, honeysuckle and Baikal skullcap intravenously.

There is also not enough scientific data on the effectiveness of forsythia for tonsillitis, sore throat, pain, inflammatory swelling, fever and gonorrhea. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of forsythia in these applications.

Safety and side effects

It is not known whether taking forsythia orally is safe and harmless. However, there is information that an injectable form may be safe and harmless when administered to children.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and lactation: Not enough is known about the use of forsythia during pregnancy and lactation. For this reason, pregnant and breastfeeding women are advised to avoid forsythia.

Surgeries: Forsythia could slow down blood clotting. There are concerns that this could increase the risk of bleeding during and after operations. For this reason, the use of forsythia should be discontinued at least 2 weeks before planned operations

Interactions

Care should be taken when combining forsythia with the following medications:

Medications that slow blood clotting

Forsythia could slow down blood clotting. Taking forsythia in combination with medications that also slow blood clotting could increase the risk of bleeding and the tendency to bruise.

Some medications that can slow blood clotting include aspirin, diclofenac (Voltaren), ibuprofen, naproxen, heparin, warfarin and others.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of forsythia depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for forsythia. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

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  3. Kim MS, Na HJ, Han SW, et al. Forsythia fructus inhibits the mast-cell-mediated allergic inflammatory reactions. Inflammation 2003;27:129-35.
  4. Kong XT, Fang HT, Jiang GQ, et al. Treatment of acute bronchiolitis with Chinese herbs. Arch Dis Child 1993;68:468-71.
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