How long should Chinese medicine be soaked before decocting?

The reason why Chinese medicine needs to be boiled for a long time is that only long-term boiling can effectively bring out the medicinal effects of Chinese medicine. Before boiling Chinese medicine, you must soak the medicinal materials first, so that the medicinal effects of the medicine can be effectively exerted and the boiling time can be shortened as much as possible. However, Chinese medicinal materials cannot be soaked in boiling water, because this will lose the medicinal effect. How long should the Chinese medicinal materials be soaked before boiling?

Avoid using boiling water to soak Chinese medicine before decocting it

Some people are accustomed to soaking the medicinal materials in boiling water before decocting the traditional Chinese medicine, believing that this can shorten the decoction time and dissolve as many effective ingredients of the traditional Chinese medicine as possible. This is actually a misunderstanding that lacks scientific knowledge. Traditional Chinese medicine cannot be soaked in boiling water.

The protein contained in traditional Chinese medicine will coagulate due to the sudden heat when it comes into contact with boiling water, and the cell wall will harden. A tight cell membrane will be formed on the outer layer, which will hinder the full dissolution of the internal components. The high-molecular substances contained in traditional Chinese medicine tend to form colloids when exposed to boiling water, which is also not conducive to the leakage of effective ingredients.

When Chinese medicine is cut and crushed, the powder left on the surface becomes gelatinized due to sudden heat, which blocks the capillary channels of the medicinal material, making it difficult for water to penetrate. After the ingredients are dissolved, they are difficult to diffuse outward, which ultimately affects the decoction of the ingredients. Aromatic Chinese medicines, such as mint, perilla, costusroot, amomum, cardamom, etc., contain volatile oils and volatile substances, which are easy to evaporate when heated. Therefore, not only should they be avoided from being soaked in boiling water, but they should also be added last during decocting.

Soaking before decocting: You can soak in cold water

The medicine must be soaked before decocting to make it easier for the active ingredients to be extracted. Generally, for medicines composed mainly of flowers, leaves and stems, the soaking time is usually 15 minutes. The soaking time for medicines mainly composed of roots, seeds, rhizomes and fruits is generally half an hour.

Number of decoctions: two or three times is appropriate.

Don't wash the Chinese medicine before boiling it

Do not wash Chinese medicine before decocting. This is because:

1. Water washing 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 the effective ingredients will be lost after washing, resulting in reduced efficacy.

2. Washing with water may cause the loss of powdered medicinal materials: 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: Since 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, if washed with water, some auxiliary materials may be lost. 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.

Please discard the burnt Chinese medicine.

The reason why traditional Chinese medicine can treat diseases is that it contains effective ingredients such as alkaloids, saponins, and tannins. The purpose of decocting Chinese medicine is to extract the effective ingredients in the medicine to facilitate the treatment of diseases.

Whether the method of decocting medicine is appropriate has a great impact on its efficacy. If the decoction time is too short, the active ingredients of the medicine cannot be boiled out, affecting the therapeutic effect; if the decoction time is too long, the active ingredients (such as volatile ingredients) will be destroyed or lost, and the medicine will be burnt. Once Chinese medicine is decocted, its properties will change. For example, after tonic Chinese medicine is decocted, its nature and taste will change from sweet to bitter, and it will no longer have a tonic effect; after blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing medicine is decocted, it will become a medicine with hemostatic effect. After most Chinese medicines are decocted, their effective ingredients will be destroyed, and they may even have the opposite effect. Those that are supposed to clear away heat cannot clear away heat, and those that are supposed to nourish the body cannot nourish the body. Therefore, Chinese medicine should be discarded after being boiled.