Is it better to use decoction-free granules or decoction medicine?

Single-ingredient Chinese herbal medicine formula granules are generally referred to as decoction-free Chinese herbal medicines. Compared with traditional Chinese medicine preparations, single-ingredient Chinese medicinal material granules do not need to be decocted, which avoids the inconvenience of decocting Chinese medicinal materials, unpleasant taste, the complexity of the decocting process, various methods that cannot be accurately mastered, and the resulting instability in efficacy.

Definition of non-decoction Chinese medicine

From a conceptual point of view, the so-called single-ingredient Chinese medicinal material formula granules are a series of herbal products made from traditional Chinese medicine preparations that meet the standards of Chinese medicine processing as raw materials, which are obtained, extracted, separated, dried, granulated and packaged through modern pharmaceutical technology. The purpose of launching this product is to serve as a substitute for traditional Chinese medicine preparations for use in clinical medical prescriptions. The effective ingredients, efficacy, meridians, main treatment methods and effects of this product are exactly the same as those of traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Therefore, it not only maintains all the characteristics of the original Chinese medicine preparations - it can meet the doctor's diagnosis and treatment of Chinese medicine, interaction according to the symptoms, strong efficacy and high medicinal strength, but also has many advantages such as no need for decocting, direct administration, small dosage, fast effect, complete ingredients, accurate efficacy, health and safety, convenient to carry and store, easy to adjust and suitable for modern production. Single-ingredient Chinese medicinal material formula granules are derived from traditional Chinese medicine preparations, but have greater advantages than traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

After the product was finalized, it was successively named "special granules of Chinese medicine preparations", "decoction-free Chinese medicine", and "low-sugar solid medicine". In 1996, the Chinese Ministry of Health's Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration standardized and unified the name and named it Single Concentrated Chinese Herbal Tea (SCCHT).

In the "Interim Provisions on the Management of Chinese Medicine Formula Granules" issued by the State Food and Drug Administration in July 2001, it is also called Chinese medicine formula granules. It can be seen from the name change process that at present people still have some contradictions about whether single Chinese medicinal material extract granules belong to the level of Chinese medicinal material reform or the level of solution reform. However, the fact that this product is an extract granule used in clinical Chinese medicine has not changed from beginning to end. It should be emphasized that this new type of Chinese herbal medicine formula granules are substantially different from another type of "special granular Chinese herbal medicine". The latter is simply crushed and processed on the basis of traditional Chinese medicine preparations. What is changed is only the physical properties of the Chinese herbal medicine, and it still needs to be decocted when used. Most of the particles extracted from single Chinese medicinal materials are in molecular structure, so they can be taken with warm water.