If there’s one thing New Yorkers love more than discovering a new secret remedy, it’s telling other New Yorkers about it.

纽约人最热衷的事除了发现治病新秘方，还有就是把新秘方分享给其他人。

“I’d been super sick for a week and half and couldn’t stop coughing,” said Alex Schweder, an architect and professor of design at Pratt Institute.

世界第9大艺术学院普瑞特的教授兼建筑师Alex Schweder告诉记者，“我已经病了一个多星期了，一直都在咳嗽”

That’s when his girlfriend gave him a bottle of Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, an “herbal dietary supplement with honey and loquat,” according to the label.

就在那时，他的女朋友给了一瓶念慈菴枇杷膏，这是一种“蜂蜜和枇杷的草药补品”。

“This started working in 15 minutes,” said Mr. Schweder.

“神奇的是，15分钟就开始见效了，”Schweder说。

“I’ve probably gotten about five people to try it, but I’ve told many more.”

“已经安利给5个人试过，并且我分享给了更多的人。”

Mr. Schweder’s girlfriend, Oberon Sinclair, owner of a creative agency, first learned about the herbal supplement nearly 30 years ago when she was living in Hong Kong.

他的女友Oberon Sinclair是一家创意公司的老板，近30年前在香港生活时，第一次听说这种草药补品。

The remedy, often referred to simply as Pei Pa Koa, is sold both in cough-drop form and more commonly in 10-ounce bottles in Chinese markets and Chinese pharmacies for approximately $7 as well as online through third parties for up to $70.

这个药方被称为“枇杷膏”，在中国市场和线上线下的药店每瓶10盎司(约300ml)售价在7美元，而通过代购则高达70美元。

Taking herbal supplements can involve health risks, including when they are used with medicines, consumed in excess or taken instead of prescription medication, said Dr. Keith Brenner, specialist in pulmonary medicine at Columbia University Medical Center at the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

纽约长老会医院哥伦比亚大学医学中心的肺医学专家Keith Brenner 博士说，服用草药补充剂可能会带来健康风险，包括服用药物时，过量服用或服用非处方药。

“I think people that use these things may not even disclose them to the physician, and it’s a problem,” he said.

他说：“我认为，使用这些药物的人甚至可能不会向医生透露这些信息，这会存在隐患。”

“There’s been well-established interactions between herbal and prescription, and the doctor can pick up on it if the patient discloses it.”

“现在处方中也会开一些草药，如果患者提到了在服用或服用过一些草药，医生会对其进行更全面的检查。”

The Food and Drug Administration advises consumers to speak to a health-care provider before taking a supplement and to be wary of any product claims that sound too good to be true.

美国食品和药物管理局建议消费者在服用保健品前先与医疗服务提供者进行沟通，并对那些虚假宣传的产品提出警告。

The agency doesn’t have the authority to review dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness.

该机构没有权力审查膳食补充剂的安全性和有效性。

Herbal remedies with loquat have been produced in China for hundreds of years.

在中国使用枇杷作为中草药已有几百年的历史。

The Nin Jiom Medicine Manufactory began producing Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa in Hong Kong in 1946.

1946年，京都念慈菴总厂有限公司在香港成立。

The Chinese characters on the bottle translate to “Beijing, in memory of my mother loquat thick paste.”

瓶子上的汉字(京都念慈菴)翻译过来的意思是“北京，念亲恩的枇杷膏。”

The company began marketing it to mainland China, North America, and Europe in the 1980s.

该公司在20世纪80年代开始将其推广到中国大陆、北美和欧洲市场。

Competing loquat syrup remedies are still produced in Hong Kong, but they remain less popular.

在香港，人们仍在生产与之竞争的枇杷糖浆，但它们的受欢迎程度仍然较低。

“All of a sudden, everybody is talking about it,” said Ching Weh Chen, owner of Pearl River, a Chinese market in New York City where the syrup is sold for $7.80.

“突然之间，每个人都在谈论它，”在纽约的中国市场——珠江百货的老板陈炜说，“这款糖浆的售价为7.80美元。”

“Chinese people have known about it for a long, long time.