What kind of water should be used to decoct Chinese medicine?

Nowadays, most people choose to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat their illnesses. They believe that traditional Chinese medicine is effective and has no side effects. Chinese herbal decoctions mainly use water as a solvent. The amount of water added depends mainly on the properties, volume, water absorption and dosage of the medicine. It should not be too much or too little. The amount of water used in traditional Chinese medicine is very important. So, how do we control the amount of water to add when decocting Chinese medicine? Next, let's take a look at how much water to add when decocting Chinese medicine?

Traditional water addition method

Place the Chinese medicine in a casserole, spread it flat with your hands, and then add water 3-4 cm above the surface of the medicine. This method is the simplest and most convenient, and is the most commonly used, but its accuracy is slightly lower. If there are more flowers (such as Inula japonica, Inula serrata, etc.) or leaves (such as mulberry leaves, loquat leaves, etc.) in the medicine, you can add more water in appropriate amount.

Measuring water method

That is, use a measuring cup or measuring cylinder to add water, and add different amounts of water according to different medicines and their first and second decoctions. Generally speaking, conditioning and nourishing medicines are first decocted

700-900 ml, second decoction 400-450 ml; for antipyretic drugs, first decoction 400-600 ml, second decoction 280-300 ml; for other first decoction 500-700 ml, second decoction 300-350 ml. This method is more accurate than the traditional water adding method; however, if the amount of medicine is large, the amount of water added will appear to be less.

Gravimetric water addition method

That is, determine the amount of water to add according to the total weight of the medicine. Weigh the prepared Chinese medicine (1 dose), and then based on the principle of adding 10 ml of water to 1 gram of Chinese medicine, add 65% of the total water to the first decoction, and leave the remaining 35% for the second decoction. For example, for the nourishing and conditioning medicine Ginseng Yangrong Decoction, the total weight of the medicine is 150 grams, and the amount of water added should be 1500 ml. The first decoction should add 65% water, which is 975 ml, and the second decoction should add 35% water, which is 525 ml. This method is accurate in adding water, and is particularly suitable for Chinese patent medicine prescriptions with a wide variety of medicines and large dosages. Although this method is more troublesome than the above two methods, it is more accurate.

Do you understand how much water to add when decocting Chinese medicine? When decocting Chinese medicine, you must not add hot water. Because when hot water is added to the raw medicine, the outer layer of the raw medicine will solidify immediately due to the impact of high temperature, which will hinder the penetration of water and greatly affect the dissolution rate of the active ingredients, thereby affecting the efficacy of the Chinese medicine. Therefore, it is recommended that you choose to use cold water to decoct the Chinese medicine.