How long can Chinese medicine be preserved?

Traditional Chinese medicine is beneficial for physical health and some nourishing effects. Especially when the body has some diseases or discomfort symptoms, conditioning through traditional Chinese medicine can effectively prevent and solve some side effects. However, when using these drugs for treatment, we cannot ignore the correct storage method of traditional Chinese medicine and its storage time.

First of all, we need to understand the packaging form of decocted Chinese herbal medicines. Currently, the most common packaging for decocted Chinese herbal medicines is vacuum-sealed packaging, and secondly, it can also be placed in containers provided by the patients themselves.

Different prescriptions were stored at different temperatures. The degree of deterioration of the medicinal juice was observed and the measurement items such as odor, turbidity, mold and acidity were recorded respectively. The results showed that the higher the temperature, the faster the medicine deteriorates. In seasons with higher temperatures, when the room temperature is above 25°C, the decoction can generally be stored for no more than 2 days. If refrigerated, it can generally be stored for 7 days without deterioration. In addition, even under the same conditions, the degree of deterioration of different prescriptions varies greatly. If the content of starch, protein, sugar and other ingredients in the medicine solution is high, it will deteriorate faster.

To ensure the safety of drug use, the optimal storage temperature for sealed vacuum-packed Chinese herbal decoctions is 0~5℃, and the storage time is 7~14 days, but it is best not to exceed 7 days. On the one hand, after the medicine soup is cooked, it is often kept at room temperature for half a day to a day before being refrigerated at home, which will "accelerate" the deterioration of the medicine soup; on the other hand, if the decocted medicine soup contains animal Chinese medicines such as scorpions and centipedes, or Chinese medicines with high sugar content such as cooked rehmannia and astragalus, it will also affect the shelf life. If you find that the medicine bag is bulging or the medicine tastes different, or there are bubbles or other abnormal phenomena, it is spoiled and should not be taken.

If you use a container that you provide yourself to hold Chinese herbal decoction, it is generally not recommended to take it overnight. Even if you place it in the refrigerator, it should not exceed 3 days to avoid the deterioration of the medicine and affect your health.

Whether it is Chinese medicine or food, if we do not store it correctly, or if it is stored for a period of time that exceeds its shelf life, it may have an adverse effect on our health if we use it at this time. Therefore, I hope everyone can pay attention to understanding the storage techniques of these Chinese medicines and use them to regulate and treat some diseases.