Ying Su Ke (Opium Poppy Husk)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What dosage of Ying Su Ke is described in the traditional materia medica?

  This is presented as historical/reference information only, not usage guidance. Materia medica references most consistently cite a decoction range on the order of 3–9 g (some dispensary references list wider historical ranges), traditionally honey-fried when used for cough and vinegar-fried when used for diarrhea or pain. Because Ying Su Ke's active constituents are pharmaceutical opiate alkaloids, in most jurisdictions today it cannot legally be sourced, compounded, or self-administered outside licensed, regulated narcotic-drug channels — so this figure documents what the classical/reference literature records, not a recommendation.

  Note: Reference sources vary on the exact traditional range — some dispensary/reference pages cite figures as high as 15–30 g, while the more commonly repeated modern materia medica figure is 3–9 g (occasionally given as up to 10 g). We record the lower, more consistently cited range and flag the spread rather than resolve it, since the herb's controlled-substance status makes any dosage figure informational only.

  Source: Bensky-consensus materia medica, cross-referenced against multiple online sources including dispensary references (wider historical range). Historical/reference note only — not usage guidance, not a prescription, and not sourcing advice.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Is Ying Su Ke safe? Is it a controlled substance?

  No — Ying Su Ke is classified as toxic in the traditional materia medica and, because it is derived from opium poppy pericarp and contains natural opiate alkaloids, it is also a legally controlled/restricted narcotic substance in most jurisdictions today. It is traditionally contraindicated in the early stage of cough or dysentery/diarrhea (where an active excess or heat pattern is still present), since its strongly astringent, “binding” action risks trapping the pathogenic factor inside the body rather than letting it resolve. It is also traditionally contraindicated in pregnancy, and is not used in children.

  • Toxic / addictive by nature — traditional sources are explicit that it should not be used in large doses or for extended periods, given both its intrinsic toxicity and its narcotic, addiction-forming potential.
  • Legally controlled (reference note, varies by jurisdiction) — concentrate of poppy straw/husk is a Schedule II controlled substance under U.S. federal law; opium is classified Class A in the UK; the plant material and its alkaloid extracts fall under the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs internationally. Several Western TCM dispensaries now list it as an obsolete/unavailable substance for this reason.
  • Contraindicated in early-stage/excess presentations — not used for acute or excess-heat cough, diarrhea, or dysentery.
  • Pregnancy — traditionally contraindicated.
  • Short-term, professional-supervision framing — where classical texts describe use at all, it is framed as short-term and last-resort, never a routine or self-directed remedy.

  Source: Bensky-consensus materia medica, cross-referenced against multiple online sources (UK Class A note; pregnancy/children/large-dose cautions); U.S. controlled-substances statutes referencing poppy straw concentrate (Schedule II); 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (poppy straw definition). Reference note, not medical or legal advice.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Toxic. Ying Su Ke (opium poppy pericarp) contains natural opium (benzylisoquinoline) alkaloids — chiefly morphine, along with codeine, papaverine, noscapine (narcotine), and thebaine — the same constituents responsible for pharmaceutical opium's analgesic and antidiarrheal effects and for its narcotic, addiction-forming, and overdose potential. Overdose or excessive/prolonged use can produce classic opioid toxicity: sedation, respiratory depression, and, in severe cases, unconsciousness or death. A forensic-toxicology review of modern opium poisoning documents that such poisoning, while uncommon, continues to occur worldwide, including from traditional-remedy and food-related exposures.

  Source: PMID 15739501 (alkaloid content — codeine, morphine, papaverine — quantified by capillary electrophoresis); PMID 31336283 (Martinez & Ballesteros, “Opium poisoning in modern times: an overview,” Forensic Science International, 2019). Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

• This herb is considered toxic.
  (while some Chinese herbs are toxic, it must be noted that many come prepared, or are combined, to mitigate their toxicity)

Herb-Drug Interactions

• Because it contains natural opiate alkaloids, Ying Su Ke carries the same interaction profile as other opium-derived substances. Combining it with other CNS depressants (sedatives, benzodiazepines, alcohol, other opioids) would be expected to compound sedation and respiratory-depression risk, and opioids are classically flagged for caution with MAOIs. It has also been documented to cause false-positive opioid/morphine urine drug screens when consumed unknowingly (e.g., as an illegal food additive) — relevant for anyone in monitored treatment programs. (General opioid-class pharmacology extended to this herb by its alkaloid content; flagged for practitioner/clinician confirmation rather than herb-specific trial data.)

  Source: PMID 32719626 / PMC 7348055 (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020 — positive urine morphine test in a methadone-maintenance patient and family after eating hot pot adulterated with poppy shell); general opioid-class pharmacology.

Western / Biomedical Research

Chinese Herb Clinical Studies & Research

Provided as research context — a summary of published biomedical study, not a therapeutic or medical claim.

• Is there modern research on Ying Su Ke (Pericarpium Papaveris)?

  Yes, but almost entirely analytical, regulatory, and forensic rather than clinical — the modern literature quantifies its opium alkaloids for quality control and documents poisoning or false-positive drug-test cases from illicit food use, rather than testing its traditional TCM indications in trials. That pattern is itself informative: as a controlled narcotic material, Ying Su Ke has not been studied as a treatment the way most other Chinese herbs have.

  • Alkaloid quantification / quality control — validated analytical methods (high-performance capillary electrophoresis; HPLC) have been developed specifically to measure codeine, morphine, and papaverine in Pericarpium Papaveris, and to detect it as an adulterant in foods alongside other fragrant/spice substances — reflecting its documented (illegal) use as a food additive in some markets.
  • Food-adulteration / false-positive drug screening (case report) — a methadone-maintenance patient with 12 years of compliant treatment, plus four family members, tested positive for urine morphine after sharing a hot-pot meal; the source was traced to poppy shells illegally added to the broth rather than opioid use, with morphine clearing to undetectable within 24 hours.
  • Poisoning overview — a forensic-toxicology review of modern opium poisoning catalogs documented case categories worldwide, including traditional-remedy and food-related exposures, underscoring that opium/poppy-derived material remains a real, if uncommon, cause of serious poisoning.

  Human clinical-trial evidence for its traditional cough/diarrhea/pain indications is essentially absent from the modern literature; what exists is analytical chemistry, regulatory/food-safety, and forensic case-report research.

  Sources: PMID 15739501; PMID 12541749; PMID 32719626 (PMC 7348055); PMID 31336283. Research context only — not a therapeutic-efficacy claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• How does Ying Su Ke compare to other astringent herbs, and where does it appear in formulas?

  Ying Su Ke is traditionally regarded as one of the strongest astringents in the Chinese materia medica — stronger and more toxic than herbs like Wu Mei (mume fruit) or Chi Shi Zhi (halloysite), which is exactly why its use is reserved for chronic, severe, deficiency-type diarrhea/dysentery or cough that has not responded to gentler astringents. Several contemporary Western dispensary references now list it among “obsolete” or restricted substances, reflecting its legal status rather than a change in its traditional efficacy profile.

  • Vs. Wu Mei / Chi Shi Zhi — these astringe the intestines without carrying narcotic/addiction risk, and are preferred first-line choices; Ying Su Ke is traditionally positioned as a stronger, later-resort option.
  • Formula context (per this site’s own formula links): Ying Su Ke appears in Jiu Xian San (a formula in the Stabilize-the-Exterior-and-Lungs category, using its Lung-astringing/antitussive action for chronic cough) and Zhen Ren Yang Zang Tang (True Man’s Decoction to Nourish the Organs, in the Restrain-Leakage-from-the-Intestines category, using its intestine-astringing action for chronic diarrhea/dysentery). (Traditional formula context, not treatment advice.)

  Source: this site’s own formula links (Jiu Xian San, Zhen Ren Yang Zang Tang); category placement (Herbs that Astringe, Stabilize, Bind); multiple online sources (category/“obsolete substances” note, alternative-herb framing).

This herb is toxic or restricted in the United States