The method of decoction of Chinese medicine is very important. Li Shizhen, a physician in the Ming Dynasty, said: "Whoever takes decoction medicine, although the quality is specialized and the treatment is like the law, but the decoction of the medicine is reckless, the water and fire are poor, and the fire is out of moderation, then the medicine is also useless";Xu Lingti, a physician in the Qing Dynasty, said, "The method of decoction is the most appropriate to talk about in depth, and the effect or ineffectiveness of medicine depends on this." It can be seen that the method cannot be ignored.
1. Requirements for decoction utensils.
It is best to use a clay pot or enamel pot, and a fire-resistant sand pot or clay pot is the most ideal, because it is evenly heated, stable in nature, thick in decoction, and high in quality, and the enamel pot can also be used. It is not advisable to use aluminum or copper pots. Because the metal activity of aluminum, iron and copper is strong, it is likely to have a chemical reaction with some components in traditional Chinese medicine, and this chemical reaction will precipitate some active ingredients in the drug, reduce the effective content in the liquid medicine, and produce substances harmful to the human body, resulting in toxicity.
Li Shizhen once said: "Where decoction is not copper and iron, it is advisable to use silver clay pots." Nowadays, the general common thing is a ceramic casserole with a lid.
In addition, the capacity of the decoction should be slightly larger, so that the liquid can be constantly tumbling during boiling. The lid should be slightly higher to allow moisture and volatile components to "reflux". The frying pan should be kept clean frequently, and it is best to remove the residue immediately after each decoction, so as not to affect the effect of the next decoction.
2. Pay attention to the amount of water.
The amount of water to be added should be determined according to the amount of medicine, the degree of water absorption and the length of time required for decoction. Generally, the amount of water added to the first decoction is more, and the amount of water added to the second decoction can be reduced by 2-3 cm to the degree of submerged herbs. There are two ways to determine the amount of water to be added to the decoction: one is the empirical estimation method
Another method of metering and adding water, the formula is as follows:
The amount of water added to the first decoction = the total weight of the medicine * 3 + decoction time * 10 + dosage.
The amount of water added to the second decoction = decoction time * 10 + dosage.
For more absorbent herbs, you can choose:
Decoction of medicine instead of water method: that is, the herbs with a large dose in a dose of medicine are boiled separately, the residue is discarded to take the soup, and then the juice is used to decoction other medicines;
Splitting decoction and juice method: that is, decoction of large and small drugs with large water requirements, filtering out their juices, and then mixing and concentrating.
Juicy concentration method: that is, the medicine is fried together, decoction is carried out two or three times, and about 300 ml of medicinal juice taken for each decoction is filtered out and mixed together to continue decoction, and concentrated to about 300 ml. The first two methods are suitable for cases where there are only a few high-dose drugs in a prescription;The third method is suitable for prescriptions that are generally high-dose drugs. It should also be noted that it is not advisable to add water frequently when decocting the medicine, which is not conducive to the decomposition of the drug. If the drug swells and the water is exhausted, you can add some boiling water as appropriate.
3. Soak before frying
In order to improve the decoction rate, the medicine should be stirred with water before decoction and soaked for 30-60 minutes.
In winter, if soaked in warm water at 20-30 degrees Celsius, the decoction time can be shortened, but not soaked in boiling water, so as to avoid the sudden coagulation of proteins in some plant cells, the formation of a dense envelope on the outer layer, or the formation of colloids in some polymer substances, which is not conducive to the leaching of active ingredients.
Fourth, master the heat.
Heat refers to the size of the fire and the level of temperature. It is divided into three types: "Gentle Fire", "Medium Fire", and "Martial Fire".
Bring to a boil over high heat and fry over low heat until liquid. This is crucial. There are three ways to decoction:
5. Pay attention to the time.
6. Special decoction method.
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