Do I need to wash Chinese medicine before decocting it?

It is a good habit to pay attention to hygiene. When eating fruits and vegetables, wash them more often. This will make the diet more hygienic and reduce the risk of disease. Some people will bring this habit of paying attention to hygiene to boiling Chinese medicine. They always think that Chinese medicine must be washed before boiling so that it is clean and they can drink it safely. So, can Chinese medicine be washed before decocting?

Many people do not understand this important common sense. Before decocting the medicine, many people are accustomed to washing it. In fact, this is a wrong practice. On the surface, it seems to be a hygienic behavior, but it is actually a wrong habit. Washing before decocting the medicine will reduce the medicinal properties, so avoid washing the medicine before decocting it.

Why should Chinese medicine never be washed before decoction?

1. Washing with water can cause the loss of water-soluble components of medicinal materials

Since many medicinal materials contain sugars and glycosides that can be dissolved in water, some of their effective ingredients will be lost after washing, resulting in reduced efficacy.

2. Washing with water may cause the powdered medicinal materials to be lost

Many Chinese medicines are in powder form, and some need to be crushed when preparing the medicine, such as peach kernel, dragon bone, talcum powder, etc. If washed with water, these medicines will be lost.

3. Washing with water may cause the loss of some medicinal materials and auxiliary materials

Because some medicinal materials are added with auxiliary materials such as honey, wine, and bile during the preparation process, and these auxiliary materials are easily soluble in water, some of them may be lost if they are washed with water. Such as the commonly used medicinal materials such as Arisaema consanguineum and wine-processed rhubarb.

Therefore, before decocting Chinese medicine, it is not advisable to rinse the medicinal materials with water to avoid the loss of medicinal ingredients and affect the efficacy of the medicine.

It can be seen from this that when decocting Chinese medicine, the medicinal materials cannot be washed with water, because this will cause a large loss of medicinal efficacy, which is not conducive to the recovery of the disease. When decocting medicine, it is best to use a clay pot. Do not use an iron pot or aluminum pot to decoct the medicine, so as to avoid reactions between the Chinese medicine and iron, aluminum, etc., which may cause uncontrollable toxins.