The reason why traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can treat diseases lies in its effective ingredients such as alkaloids, saponins, and tannins. The purpose of decocting TCM is to extract the effective ingredients for the treatment of diseases.
The method of decoction plays a crucial role in the therapeutic effect. If the decoction time is too short, the effective ingredients of the medicine may not be fully extracted, which will affect the treatment effect. If the decoction time is too long, it may lead to the destruction or loss of volatile components, and the medicine may become mushy. Once TCM becomes mushy, its nature will change. For example, after the decoction, nourishing TCM will change from sweet to bitter, losing its nourishing effect. Blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicines will become medicines with hemostatic effects. After decoction, most TCMs will have their effective ingredients destroyed, and their effects may even be reversed. For example, heat-clearing TCMs may not clear heat as expected, and nourishing TCMs may not nourish the body. Therefore, TCMs should be discarded after they become mushy.
