Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners often prescribe a 4-7 day supply of herbal medicine at a time. For chronic patients, they may prescribe a two-week supply. Many patients choose to have all their herbs decocted at once in the hospital or pharmacy and then store the decocted herbal soup in the refrigerator. So, how long can decocted herbal medicine stored in the refrigerator last?
The storage time depends on the packaging of the decocted herbal soup. Currently, the most common packaging for decocted herbal medicine is vacuum-sealed packaging. Alternatively, patients can use their own containers to store the soup.
For safety reasons, experts recommend that decocted herbal soup in vacuum-sealed packaging be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature range of 0°C to 5°C. The storage time should be between 7 to 14 days, but it is best not to exceed 7 days. On one hand, the decocted soup is often stored at room temperature for half a day to a day before being refrigerated, which can accelerate the spoilage of the soup. On the other hand, if the soup contains animal-based herbs such as whole scorpions or centipedes, or high-sugar herbs such as cooked rehmannia root or astragalus root, it can also affect the storage time. If the liquid bag is swollen or the liquid has a strange smell, bubbles, or other abnormal phenomena, it has spoiled and should not be consumed.
If the decocted herbal soup is stored in containers provided by the patients themselves, it is generally not recommended to consume it overnight, even if it is placed in the refrigerator. It should not exceed 3 days to prevent the deterioration of the liquid and its impact on health.
