Why do most of us choose casserole to cook Chinese medicine?

As we all know, casserole, pottery, casserole, enamel ware, stainless steel pot and heat-resistant glassware are the best ways to decoct Chinese medicine. However, it is not advisable to use iron pot, copper pot, aluminum pot and other decoctions. So what is the reason?

First of all, utensils such as casserole or crock have slow heat transfer, uniform heat conduction, mild heating, strong thermal insulation around the pot, difficult chemical changes and low price. When decocted with slow fire for a long time, the water in the pot is not easy to evaporate, and the effective components in the medicine can be fully dissolved.

Secondly, some Chinese medicines, such as Radix Rehmanniae (Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Rehmanniae Preparata), Radix Scrophulariae, Galla Chinensis, Sanguisorba officinalis, Radix Paeoniae Alba, etc., all contain tannic acid, which is astringent and soluble in water. It is a medicine in itself and has excellent astringency, so tannic acid is often used as an "antidiarrheal drug" or a "hemostatic drug". However, once tannic acid comes into contact with metals with strong chemical activity, such as iron, copper, aluminum, etc., it is easy to form a water-insoluble film during the decocting process, that is, precipitation such as iron tannic acid and copper tannic acid is generated. In this way, tannic acid has changed from a water-soluble component to a component that is no longer soluble in water and cannot be absorbed by the human body.

In addition, Chinese medicine often contains alkaloids. The reason why traditional Chinese medicine can cure diseases is often because these alkaloids play various special physiological roles. For example, ephedrine can treat bronchitis; Rauvolpine can treat hypertension and so on. These indispensable alkaloids have a remarkable feature, and most of them are insoluble in water. They can only be dissolved by water when they react with organic acids such as tannic acid to form salts. If the medicine is decocted in a metal pan, the loss of tannic acid is too large, which will affect the dissolution of alkaloids and thus affect the curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine.

Finally, the metal pot is easy to form some water-insoluble precipitates with other compounds in traditional Chinese medicine. The composition of casserole is silicate, and its chemical properties are very inactive, thus effectively eliminating some problems existing in metal pots and giving full play to the role of traditional Chinese medicine.

Copper, iron, aluminum and other metal containers are prohibited in decocting drugs, and metals react with drugs, which can be fatal. Patients may have nausea and vomiting after taking it, which will aggravate their condition. In order not to affect the curative effect, the reason why the medicine is decocted in a ceramic casserole is because it is stable in nature and difficult to react with the medicine. Slow heat transfer, uniform heating, not easy to paste the pot. Don't take deteriorated or fried Chinese medicine again to avoid poisoning. And the price is cheap, so it is most convenient and practical to choose ceramic casserole and crock. If there is no casserole and crock, stainless steel, enamel products or glassware can be used instead.