Some Chinese herbal medicines require special decoction methods due to their texture. Incorrect operation can affect the efficacy of the medicine, so attention should be paid. Therefore, in the process of dispensing, some medicines will be individually packaged according to prescription requirements and regulations, based on their unique characteristics and properties. These medicines are then packed together with other medicines on the prescription, making it convenient for patients to take them home for decoction.
First decoction: Shell-bearing and mineral medicines, due to their hard texture, should have their effective ingredients crushed and decocted first for 10 to 30 minutes before adding other medicines, such as dragon bone and oyster. In addition, toxic medicines like aconite and wolfberry should be decocted slowly at low heat for a long time to reduce their toxicity.
Later addition: Medicinal herbs containing volatile components or with aromatic odor can easily have their effective ingredients destroyed by prolonged decoction. It is advisable to add them when the general decoction is about to be completed and decoct them for 4 to 5 minutes to prevent the dispersion of their effective ingredients, such as mint and cardamom.
Package decoction: This method is suitable for medicines with sticky, small seeds, powders, and fine hairs. In order to prevent the decoction from becoming turbid and reduce adverse irritation to the digestive tract and throat, the medicines should be wrapped in a thin cloth before being put in the pot for decoction together with other medicines, such as honeysuckle and plantago seed.
Separate decoction: For valuable medicinal materials, in order to reduce losses, they should be decocted separately for a long time, the decoction should be extracted, and then combined with the decoction of other medicines for consumption, such as ginseng and deer antler.
Dissolution: When using medicines with large viscosity and easy solubility, they should be heated and melted separately, and then added to the residue-free decoction for gentle boiling or stirring while hot to dissolve them, such as donkey-hide gelatin.
Direct consumption: If powdered medicine is decocted together with other medicines, it may stick to the pot and affect the efficacy. It should be mixed in the already decocted medicinal broth and consumed together, such as amber powder.
Decoction with soup instead of water: For certain medicines, the residue should be removed after decoction, and then the remaining medicines should be decocted with liquid to play an auxiliary role. For example, corn silk has diuretic and blood sugar-lowering effects, and stove heart soil absorbs the medicinal effects of firewood, making the properties milder and having the function of warming the middle and stopping bleeding.
It should be noted that after the medicinal decoction is completed, when pouring it out, a tool should be used to squeeze the remaining liquid from the medicinal residue, and it should be filtered in a timely manner. Do not store it in the pot for a long time, as the liquid may be absorbed by the residue and cause expansion.
