How long does it take to boil Chinese medicine?

We often feel unwell in our daily life, sometimes it is due to poor stomach and intestines, sometimes it is due to poor digestion, and there are other situations. Many friends will choose to regulate their body with Chinese medicine when they have the above-mentioned situations. When decocting the medicine, not only the heat is important, but the time required for decocting the medicine is also the most critical, which directly affects the performance of the medicinal properties. Let us learn how long it takes to boil the Chinese medicine.

Decoction time:

There is a term in decocting Chinese medicine, which is "decoction the medicine thoroughly". The word “透” here means just right. But how long does it take to boil a patch of medicine thoroughly? This depends on the properties of each patch of medicine.

For example: conditioning and tonic medicines, that is, medicines that nourish the body. Most of these medicines are from the rhizomes and fruits of plants, and crustaceans of animals, such as Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, Atractylodes macrocephala, Rehmannia glutinosa, Rosa rugosa, Ligustrum lucidum, tortoise shell, turtle shell, deer antler, oyster and other heavy products. Its characteristics are hardness, thickness, strong nourishing property, and the medicine contains a large amount of nutrients. The purpose of decocting the medicine is to extract some effective ingredients, so it must be decocted for a long time, otherwise this cannot be achieved. The time for decocting the medicine is: half an hour to three quarters of an hour after the first juice is boiled, and about half an hour after the second juice is boiled, until the white core is eliminated. (When decocting medicine, take out the tablet, break it open and have a look. If there is no white core, it proves that the medicine has been decocted thoroughly; otherwise, it has not been decocted thoroughly). In rural Zhejiang, tonic medicines are decocted in fire pots. After putting the medicine and water in the medicine pot, place the medicine pot in the fire tank. The jar is surrounded by rice bran and straw balls (made from straw or weeds into balls 20 cm long and 8 cm wide), then filled with freshly burned wood ash and covered with cold ash. Pressed tightly, it is simmered overnight. The medicine in the jar will boil over without overflowing, and the quality of the medicine juice that comes out is very good.

Generally speaking, the first frying takes 30 minutes and the second frying takes 20-25 minutes. For those who relieve exterior symptoms and clear away heat, the cooking time for each decoction should be reduced by 10 minutes; for those who nourish the body, the first decoction should take 40-60 minutes. Fry for 30-40 minutes. In special circumstances, please follow your doctor's advice.

Through the above introduction, we know how long it takes to boil Chinese medicine. When boiling Chinese medicine, we must pay attention to the size of the fire. It should be determined according to the time required for boiling the medicine. In particular, many medicines require low heat while others require high heat. The specific situation depends on the medicinal properties of the Chinese medicine. However, boiling medicine is mainly based on the right amount, not the more the better.