How to store Chinese herbal medicine decoction

When some patients take Chinese medicine, they will choose to go to a store that specializes in making Chinese medicine for convenience. The Chinese medicine made in this way is generally vacuum-packed, but its storage period is relatively short, so it must be stored in a refrigerator. However, for some boarding students, if there is no refrigerator, they can only choose other places to store it. So how should Chinese medicine decoctions be stored?

Currently, the most common packaging for decocted Chinese herbal medicines is vacuum-sealed packaging, but the liquid shelf life indicated on the packaging by each hospital and pharmacy is different. A study once found that when the same decoction is stored at different temperatures, the higher the temperature, the faster the medicine will deteriorate. At room temperature above 25°C, the decoction can be stored for no more than two days. If refrigerated, it can generally be stored for 7 days without deterioration. In addition, even under the same conditions, different prescriptions will have very different degrees of deterioration. If the content of starch, protein, sugar and other ingredients in the medicine is high, it will deteriorate faster. In summary, the best storage temperature and time are as follows:

Storage temperature: For safety and efficacy, sealed vacuum-packed decoctions are best stored in a refrigerator at 0°C-5°C (if there are aconite granules, it is not recommended to put them in the refrigerator. If they are placed in the refrigerator, they must be heated and boiled on the fire before they can be taken);

Storage time: 7-14 days at the above temperature, but preferably not more than 7 days. If the decoction contains animal Chinese medicines such as scorpions and centipedes or Chinese medicines with high sugar content such as cooked rehmannia and astragalus, it will also affect the storage time.

1. If you use ordinary containers to hold Chinese herbal medicine decoctions, it is generally not recommended to take them overnight, and even if they are placed in the refrigerator, they cannot be kept for more than 3 days;

2. If the medicine bag is found to be bulging or the medicine tastes different or has bubbles, it is considered to be spoiled and should not be taken.