Correct decocting method of traditional Chinese medicine decoction

With the development of society, people pay more and more attention to the status of traditional Chinese medicine. Many people go to see an old Chinese doctor and prescribe medicine. In order to give full play to the maximum efficacy of medicinal materials, the following small series will talk about the correct decocting method of traditional Chinese medicine, hoping to help everyone.

First, before decocting

1, how to choose decocting tools?

It is best to use casserole, pottery jar, enamel jar, or stainless steel jar. But aluminum pot, iron pot, copper pot, greasy pot and other metal utensils should not be used. Because aluminum, iron and copper are all active and easily react with drugs. For example, the iron in the iron pot reacts with the tannic acid in the medicine to generate iron tannic acid, and the corresponding metal ions can be detected in the liquid medicine decocted by aluminum pot and copper pot [2].

2. What water is used for decocting medicine?

Clear water with less minerals and less metal ions should be selected. Use tap water, well water, river water, ordinary purified water or deionized water (distilled water). Mineral water is not recommended, because mineral water is rich in calcium and magnesium plasma, and calcium and magnesium are easy to form scale and precipitate with carbonate, which not only loses trace elements calcium and magnesium, but also may precipitate with other components in traditional Chinese medicine, affecting the curative effect [3].

3. Do you need to soak it before decocting?

Need. Soaking the medicinal materials in cold water for about 30 minutes before decocting is helpful to release the Chinese medicinal components in the decoction and increase the concentration of the decoction. In winter, it can be soaked in warm water of 20-30 degrees to shorten the decocting time, but it can't be soaked in boiling water, so as to avoid the sudden solidification of protein in some plant medicine cells, the formation of dense coating on the outer layer, or the formation of colloid on some polymer substances, which is not conducive to the leaching of effective components.

Secondly, in the process of decocting,

1. How much water does it take to decoct the medicine?

Generally, the water consumption for the first decoction is large, and the surface of the medicinal materials is soaked in water for 2-3 cm, and the water surface for the second decoction is flush with the medicinal materials. In addition, the amount of water is also related to the decocting time and the amount of liquid medicine needed. Such as wind-heat cold medicine, it needs to be lightly decocted, the decocting time is short, the water consumption is not large, and the water should be close to the required liquid medicine. If the tonic needs to be decocted with slow fire for a long time, you should put more water. Pay attention to put enough water at a time to avoid adding water in the middle.

2. What temperature should I use to decoct the medicine?

Generally speaking, when decocting medicine, the liquid medicine should be boiled with strong fire (big fire) before boiling, and then with slow fire (small fire) to prevent the water from boiling too fast, and the effective components in the medicine will be dissolved out, which will affect the efficacy.

How long does it take to decoct this medicine?

According to the condition and different Chinese medicines, the decocting time is different. For general drugs, decoct for about 30 minutes after the first decoction, and decoct for 15 minutes after the second and third decoction. In addition, the following different decocting methods are common:

Light frying: it means that the cooking time is short. Boil for the first time and fry for 10- 15 minutes, and boil for 5- 10 minutes for the second time. Generally used for cough, rash and other skin diseases caused by exogenous wind and heat.

Long-term frying: Long-term frying takes 40-45 minutes after the first boiling and 20-30 minutes after the second boiling. It is often used as a tonic for chronic diseases.

4. How many times is it appropriate to decoct a Chinese medicine?

General Chinese medicine can be decocted for 2-3 times. Generally speaking, the effective components of the first decoction are about 30% of each dose, and the effective components of the second decoction are as follows.

40%~50%, 70%~80% can be obtained by combining twice, and the third and fourth decoctions account for about 20%[2]. Another study found that the average amount of active ingredients in the second decoction of traditional decoction was more than 80% of that in the third decoction [4].

5. How to fry the single package of medicine in the prescription?

There are different decocting methods for a single package of traditional Chinese medicine according to the application needs, and the decocting methods are generally written on the packaging paper of a single package of medicine. Common ones are as follows:

Stir-fry first: generally stir-fry for about 30-60 minutes before adding other drugs. For example, some hard Chinese medicines, such as minerals, shells and hornbills, should be fried for 30 minutes first, such as gypsum, tortoise plastron and buffalo horn. If they can be crushed properly, it will be easier to fry the effective components. Others with poison, such as aconite, aconite and Phytolacca acinosa, need to be fried 1 hour or even longer.

Waist: Generally, it is better to put it down 1-5 minutes before decocting. If it is fried twice, half of it should be put into the soup fried for the first time and half into the soup fried for the second time.

Generally, the latter medicine has a strong fragrance and contains a large amount of volatile oil, such as mint and Schizonepeta, which can be decocted 1 min. In addition, drugs that are easy to reduce the efficacy after long-term decoction, such as Uncaria, almond, rhubarb, senna and so on. , should be fried for 5 minutes before frying.

Frying: it means wrapping with gauze and frying. Less than half of the drugs are suitable for decoction:

(1) Pollen drugs, small seeds and fruits of traditional Chinese medicine, fine powder of drugs, such as Pollen Typhae, Lepidium, DaiGe Fen, etc. It should blow up.

② Drugs containing more starch, such as floating wheat and plantain seeds, are easy to paste in the boiling process and need to be fried.

3 drugs with fluff are easy to fall off when frying. When mixed with soup, they can irritate the throat, causing cough and other uncomfortable symptoms. Common drugs are Inula, Flos Magnoliae and so on.

Dissolution: some gum or sugar drugs, such as donkey-hide gelatin, tortoise plastron, antler glue, maltose, etc. , should be dissolved in soup or dissolved with appropriate amount of boiling water, and then rushed into the soup.

Another kind of decoction: some precious Chinese medicines, such as ginseng, American ginseng, velvet antler, cordyceps sinensis, etc. Can be decocted separately to get juice, and mixed with the decocted liquid medicine for administration.

Oral administration: Some water-insoluble drugs, such as bezoar, notoginseng, antelope horn powder, cinnabar, sal ammoniac, etc., should be ground into very fine powder and decocted. Or some fresh drugs, such as fresh bamboo juice, fresh rehmannia root, fresh reed rhizome and so on. , should be taken with juice as directed by the doctor.

Thirdly, after decoction

The decocted liquid medicine needs to be filtered, and then the decocted liquid medicine is evenly mixed and taken separately. Generally speaking, the decoction dosage of each dose is 300-600 ml, and each dose is taken 2-3 times a day, and the dosage of each dose is 150-200 ml. If there is too much liquid medicine, the mixed liquid medicine can be decocted again and concentrated before taking. Note that drugs that need to be lightly decocted cannot be concentrated. Special circumstances need to be decided according to the doctor's advice, such as spleen and stomach weakness, taking less liquid medicine every time; For the treatment of acute fever, the frequency of taking medicine should be frequent.

The above is Bian Xiao's related content about the correct decoction method of traditional Chinese medicine. I hope it will help you, learn more about it and pay attention to the continuous update of Bian Xiao.