How long should the decoction be boiled?

I believe many people are familiar with traditional Chinese medicine. Preparing Chinese medicine is not an easy task. There are specific requirements for the heat, time, amount of water, etc. in the process of boiling Chinese medicine. After purchasing Chinese medicine from the pharmacy, you can quickly wash it and then boil it. At the beginning, you should use high heat and then change to low heat after boiling. So how long should Chinese medicine be boiled?

Is it better to have concentrated Chinese medicine?

Actually, it is not. What is common is that Chinese medicine has already taken shape within a fixed period of time, and the efficacy will be maintained within this period of time.

1. Chinese medicine decoction is the process of continuously releasing and dissolving the active ingredients in the Chinese medicine pieces. When the concentration of the active ingredients in the Chinese medicine pieces and the medicinal solution is balanced, this process is stopped. Continuously decocting the medicine will not only fail to cause the active ingredients in the medicine to continue to separate and dissolve, but will cause the active ingredients in the medicine liquid to be reduced due to continuous evaporation, and even cause the active ingredients to be destroyed in long-term high temperature, resulting in a decrease in efficacy.

2. It should be determined based on the nature of the drug and the disease, the difficulty of dissolution of the active ingredients and the medication conditions. Generally speaking, the first decoction takes 20 to 25 minutes from the beginning of the boiling, the second decoction takes 15 to 20 minutes, the first decoction of antipyretic drugs takes 10 to 15 minutes, and the second decoction takes 10 minutes. The first decoction of the nourishing medicine should be 30 to 40 minutes, and the second decoction should be 25 to 30 minutes. If there is a first decoction, it should be decocted for 10 to 30 minutes, and the last medicine should be put into the pot in the last 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Most Chinese medicines do not require concentrated decoction. Especially for antipyretic, heat-clearing and aromatic drugs, the decocting time should be even shorter, such as antipyretic drugs such as ephedra and cinnamon twig, heat-clearing drugs such as honeysuckle and chrysanthemum, and aromatic drugs such as amomum and agarwood.

How long is the best time to boil Chinese medicine?

Generally it takes 20 to 30 minutes. The medicinal effects of each Chinese medicine are completely different, so it still depends on different situations.

1. After the Chinese medicine is soaked, place it on a gas stove or a honeycomb stove and start boiling. Use high heat before the Chinese medicine boils, and then switch to low heat after it boils. Boil on low heat for about 20 minutes. Look at the watch, if there is still a lot of medicine soup when the time is up, you can continue to boil it for a while. Remember never to boil the Chinese medicine dry, otherwise you will have to throw it away. When boiling Chinese medicine, someone must be there to watch over you. After boiling, you can put a chopstick on the edge of the casserole to block the medicine residue, and then filter it with a medicine filter, which will have a better effect.

2. If you have time, you can boil it for the third time, adding half of the water of the second time. But in general, it is enough to boil it twice. The medicinal strength of the third time will be very low, but you can use the soup to soak your feet after boiling it.

3. Nowadays, people often boil medicine directly using tap water. In fact, it is best to let the boiled water cool down before using it, because the tap water in some places is mostly disinfected with chlorine, which has more or less residues. At the same time, the tap water contains more calcium and magnesium ions, which can easily react with the compounds in the medicinal materials and affect the efficacy.

4. If some volatile medicinal materials are boiled openly, the active ingredients will be released into the air along with the water vapor, and the efficacy will be greatly reduced. Generally, they are pungent and dispersing drugs or aromatic and dehumidifying drugs, such as mint, perilla leaves, patchouli, etc., and the decoction time should not be too long. For example, some tonic medicines such as ginseng, deer antler, American ginseng, etc. need to be simmered slowly over low heat in a container for a long time to fully boil out their effective ingredients. The lid should also be covered to prevent the medicinal ingredients from being lost with the water vapor during the slow simmering.

Precautions for boiling Chinese medicine

1. Most of the medicinal materials purchased in professional pharmacies do not need to be washed, so don’t worry about them being unclean. If you must wash the medicinal materials, just put them in clean water and wash them quickly. Never soak them to wash. If the medicinal materials that need to be boiled are small particles, such as Plantago seed and Cassia seed, you must pay attention to protecting them during the cleaning process and make sure they are not washed away.

2. Experienced Chinese medicine practitioners told us that the temperature when boiling Chinese medicine will affect its efficacy. It is recommended that when boiling Chinese medicine, you should use high heat at the beginning, and then reduce the heat to low after boiling. However, if you are decocting some medicine that has the effect of treating external infections, you should continue to use high heat after the water boils, and simmer it for about fifteen minutes.

3. There are two ways to boil Chinese medicine: low heat and high heat. The so-called high heat is high heat. You can use high heat before the medicine boils without losing its medicinal properties. However, using high heat after it boils will easily destroy the medicinal components and cause the effective drugs to evaporate.

4. Herbal prescriptions can cure serious diseases. Don’t underestimate these herbs. Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize for the artemisinin extracted from herbs. Traditional Chinese medicine, which takes a long time to take effect, has fewer side effects. As long as you take the medicine regularly, it can cure many diseases that cannot be treated by Western medicine.