Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa
King-to Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, commonly known as Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa or simply Nin Jiom Herbal Cough Syrup, is a traditional Chinese natural herbal remedy used for the relief of sore throat, coughs, hoarseness and aphonia. It is a throat demulcent and expectorant.
Name
The name is mostly in Cantonese. In the name of the company, king-to means "capital", referring to Beijing, and nin jiom means "in memory of my mother"; hence, it stresses the important virtue of filial piety. In Pei Pa Koa, the Pei Pa is Cantonese for "loquat", while Koa is likely Hokkien for "syrup".The product is marketed under the brand name Cap Ibu dan Anak in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, also acronymed as OBIDA in the latter country.
History
The formula for pei pa koa was reportedly created by Dr. Ip Tin-See, a Qing dynasty physician born in 1680. Yang Chin, a county commander, asked Doctor Ip to treat his mother's persistent cough. They were so impressed that they created a factory to mass-produce it. In 1946, the Yang family sold the business to Tse Sui-Bong, a medicine practitioner, who founded the Nin Jiom Medicine Manufactory. The company was formally incorporated in 1962, and continue to manufacture and sell the product worldwide.The headquarters of the company is located in Hong Kong and Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Availability and marketing of the product expanded in the 1980s, and today it is easily found in North America, most often in Chinese groceries and herbal stores.
Pei pa koa had annual sales of HK$350 million in 2014.