Correct method of decocting traditional Chinese medicine, method of decocting traditional Chinese medicine and matters needing attention.

We usually eat Chinese patent medicines, which may be directly made into tablets or other dosage forms, and we don't need to cook them ourselves, but in fact, there are many Chinese medicines that need to be taken home for cooking, but cooking Chinese medicines is not a routine thing that everyone has been doing, so many people are not very good at cooking Chinese medicines. So, what is the correct decocting method of traditional Chinese medicine? What should I pay attention to?

1, Precautions for decocting drugs

(1) First of all, home appliances are very important. Metal pots such as iron pots are generally not accepted, because many molecules with efficacy may react with metals at high temperature, resulting in changes in efficacy. So it's best to use casserole. At the same time, water quantity and so on should also be considered.

(2) Secondly, the extraction conditions are very important, which is the so-called temperature. In ancient times, it was impossible to quantify accurately, and different fuels had different combustion characteristics. According to different fuels, a series of related parameters, such as different temperature and heating time, can be obtained, such as long-term uniform combustion of cow dung.

(3) Finally, is it possible that the fuel composition played a role in the combustion process? Personally, I think it is unlikely. Self-burning organic components are almost destroyed. It is too difficult to reach the concentration of the treatment window when entering the medicinal soup, but this should not be the main factor.

2. Selection of decocting instruments

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine decoction is closely related to the selected decocting instruments. It is better to use the existing casserole, because the material of the casserole is relatively stable, it will not react chemically with the pharmaceutical ingredients, and the heat transfer is even and mild, which is one of the reasons why it has been used since ancient times. In addition, enamel pot, stainless steel pot and glass frying pan can also be selected. However, iron pots and copper pots cannot be used, mainly because of their unstable chemical properties and easy oxidation. When decocting, it can react with the chemical components contained in traditional Chinese medicine. For example, it can form ferric tannic acid with tannic acid to deepen the color of the liquid medicine. It can form insoluble polymers with flavonoids. It can form salts with organic acids. All these will affect the quality of decoction and directly affect the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine decoction.

3. Decoct in water

The amount of water added in decoction is also very important, which directly affects the quality of decoction. If less water is added, the medicine will not be decocted thoroughly and the effective components will not be leached completely. If more water is added, more liquid medicine will be decocted, which will bring inconvenience to patients. Due to the different textures of Chinese herbal medicines, their water absorption varies greatly, and the water addition is generally controlled at 5- 10 times. Drugs with the same weight, loose texture, large volume and natural water absorption. If the texture is solid, its volume will be small and its water absorption will be less. Therefore, flowers, leaves and whole herbs should be decocted with more water. Cooking minerals and shellfish requires less water. According to the traditional method of adding water, the medicine is put into a pot, and the amount of water added for the first decoction is 3-5 cm above the surface of the medicine, and that for the second decoction is 3 cm above the surface of the medicine. This method of adding water is simple and easy to master.

4. Pay attention to the problem of decocting medicine

(1) Soak before decocting: The medicine must be soaked before decocting, because most Chinese medicines from plants are dried. Soaking in water can soften the medicinal materials, and the tissues and cells will return to their natural state after swelling, and it is easy to leach the effective components when decocting. Generally, the soaking time of drugs mainly composed of flowers, leaves and stems is 1- 1.5 hours. The soaking time of the medicine mainly consisting of roots, seeds, rhizomes and fruits is 2-3 hours.

(2) Decocting times: The effect of multiple decoctions is better than that of one long decoction. Practice has proved that the decoction can decoct about 80% of its components twice, so it is appropriate to decoct twice or three times.

(3) Temperature of decoction: The temperature of decoction is called "Wen" in Chinese medicine, commonly known as "slow fire" or "fierce fire". The so-called slow fire is a weak fire, the temperature rises slowly and the water evaporates slowly. The so-called fierce fire means that the fire is big, the temperature rises quickly, and the water evaporates quickly. If the heat is too large, the water will evaporate quickly, which will affect the leaching of effective components and make it easy to paste the pot. On the contrary, if the heat is weak, the effect of decocting will be poor. Generally, strong fire is used before cooking, and then slow fire is used after cooking, which can slow down the evaporation of water and facilitate the frying of effective ingredients.

(4) decocting time: mainly depends on the nature of drugs and diseases, as well as the situation of drugs. Generally speaking, the first frying takes 20-30 minutes, and the second frying takes 30-40 minutes. Drugs for treating cold, the first decoction 10- 15 minutes, the second decoction 15-20 minutes. The tonic medicine is decocted for 30-40 minutes for the first time and 40-50 minutes for the second time.

(5) Liquid medicine retention: generally refers to the amount of liquid medicine after one dose of medicine is decocted twice. Adults take 400-600 ml twice a day. Children take 200-300ml twice or three times a day.

(6) Administration method: Generally, one dose of medicine is decocted twice, and then the combined liquid medicines are taken twice. Children can take it in 2-3 times. Drugs for colds, fever, enteritis and diarrhea can also be taken frequently, that is, once every 4 hours, 30-40 ml each time, and then taken after recovery, 2-3 times a day, and children should take it several times more.

(7) Boiling of special drugs: The doctor will prescribe drugs with footnotes in the prescription according to the patient's condition and the nature of the drugs.

A. Decoct the medicine first: Generally speaking, some medicines of minerals, shells and crustaceans are difficult to decoct, and the effective ingredients generally need to be decocted for 30-40 minutes before being mixed with other medicines. Common gypsum, raw keel, mother of pearl, raw ochre, etc. In addition, toxic drugs can be decocted first and then decocted for a long time, so as to achieve the purpose of attenuation or detoxification. For example, aconitine can be decomposed into aconitine after long-term decoction, and its toxicity is only 1/2000. For example, taking aconite decoction for a long time can not only reduce toxicity but also increase cardiotonic effect.

B. After taking: Generally, drugs with aromatic smell and volatile oil or difficult to decoct for a long time should be put into the pot 10- 15 minutes before decocting. Common ones are Pogostemon cablin, Uncaria rhynchophylla and rhubarb. For example, if the decoction time exceeds 20 minutes, the antihypertensive components contained in Uncaria rhynchophylla will be easily destroyed. Rhubarb, a component with purgative and heat-clearing effects, is rhein, but it is unstable to heat and will decompose when heated for a long time. The purgative effect of rhein is stronger than that of aglycone, and it is not easy to decoct for a long time. The purgative method is often used.

C. Decocting: Generally, seeds and single pollen medicine are put into gauze bags and put into group medicine for decocting. Common ones are plantain seeds, Inula flowers and so on. For example, plantain seeds are easy to stick to the pan, gelatinize and coke. So it needs to be fried. Inula health care can prevent fluff from falling off and mix with soup to stimulate the throat.

D, dissolving and taking: dissolving the medicine with hot liquid medicine and taking it. Common drugs are sodium sulfate and mirabilite.

E. melting clothes; Mainly some gum drugs, which are taken after being dissolved with hot water. If the liquid medicine is mixed and decocted, the viscosity of the liquid medicine is high, which will affect the leaching of other components, and gum drugs will also lose to some extent, so the method of melting is adopted. Common raw donkey-hide gelatin, antler glue and tortoise plastron glue.

F, fry separately. Some expensive medicines should be decocted separately, and then the liquid medicines should be taken together. Common ginseng, American ginseng, velvet antler and so on.

G. oral administration. Some precious drug fine powder can't be decocted with the combination of drugs, and it is usually taken orally, that is, the powder is dissolved in the liquid medicine. This not only helps to play the role of drugs, but also saves medicinal materials. The common ones are Sanqi noodles, antelope horn noodles and bezoar noodles.

(8) Pay attention to the selection of utensils, the amount of water added, the time and temperature of decocting Chinese medicine, etc. It takes patience and care to decoct Chinese medicine. If you want to fry a pair of Chinese medicine, you must concentrate, so that you can fry a good medicine.