Recipe
Xong — Vietnamese steam inhalation with kinh gioi
- Herb:
- Vietnamese balm Elsholtzia ciliata
- Method:
- Inhalation
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 20 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Rinse the kinh gioi herb, 2 lemongrass stalks and a few grapefruit or orange leaves and put them in 2 l of water.
- Bring to the boil and simmer 3 minutes under a lid so the oil does not escape early.
- Set the pot on the table, sit over it with a towel over your head about 30 cm away and breathe the steam for 10 minutes.
- Dry off and do not go straight out into the cold; repeat once a day while the cold lasts.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 2 handfuls (about 40 g) of fresh kinh giới aerial parts, optionally with lemongrass and grapefruit leaves, per 2 l of water
- Solvent:
- brief boiling, then steam inhalation under a towel
- Shelf life:
- use immediately
- Target compounds:
- essential oil containing elsholtzia ketone and dehydroelsholtzia ketone passes into the steam; leaf content varies by chemotype
Notes
A traditional Vietnamese household practice for colds (xong hoi). Steam scalds — set the pot down firmly, children only supervised and at a greater distance; not with fever above 39 °C or with asthma. A herbal inhalation does not cure a cold; it only eases a blocked nose.
Why it works
Elsholtzia smells of mint and lemon thanks to an oil with elsholtzia ketone, dehydroelsholtzia ketone and limonene, released from the herb into the steam. The study by Martisiene et al. 2023 showed a relaxant effect of the oil on smooth muscle in the laboratory, which may explain the sense of eased airways, but clinical trials of steam inhalation in humans do not exist — the relief is largely the work of the warm moist steam itself.
Literature
- Martisiene I et al. (2023): Elsholtzia ciliata Essential Oil Exhibits a Smooth Muscle Relaxant Effect. Pharmaceuticals 16(10):1464 — Laboratory study of the relaxant effect of the essential oil on smooth muscle; essential oil composition.
Related
Vietnamese balm — Herb card
Inhalation — Processing method detail