Wake up（20）

 

20

 

He Jiafu was about to find a casserole to boil Chinese medicine for Lao Pantou, when Pan Tianliang, Lao Pantou's son, ran over with his wife.

Pan Tianliang said to He Jiafu: "Go and talk to my father, let my wife do the cooking of traditional Chinese medicine."

At this moment, Chai Jianhua came over. Chai Jianhua said to Pan Tianliang and his wife: "Iron pots, copper pots, and aluminum pots cannot be used to decoct medicine. This is because the chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine is very complicated. Due to the active chemical properties of copper, iron, aluminum and other metals, it is easy to mix with traditional Chinese medicine. The chemical components of the chemical reaction will occur. For example, iron can easily form iron tannate with tannin, which will deepen the color of the liquid medicine, and make the liquid medicine have a rusty smell, which will affect the efficacy of the medicine. "

Chai Jianhua checked the casserole in Pan Tianliang's hand and said that the casserole is the best utensil for decocting medicine, because the material of the casserole is stable and will not chemically react with the ingredients of the medicine. The thermal insulation is relatively strong, and the evaporation of water is relatively small, which is conducive to the preservation of heat-resistant ingredients. The medicinal ingredients are more comprehensively preserved, but the casserole has more pores, and it is easy to absorb the medicinal ingredients into the material of the earthen pot. When cooking other medicinal materials, there will be odors from time to time. The situation occurs, thereby affecting the efficacy of the drug. Therefore, check the casserole before boiling Chinese medicine. Most Chinese herbal medicines are raw medicines, and they are generally purified and processed with auxiliary materials before they are sold. Generally, there is no need to wash them before decocting. Especially small packages of Chinese herbal medicines are very clean. If you really feel that the whole herbal Chinese medicines are a little dirty, you can rinse them with water quickly before soaking. Do not soak and rinse, so as to prevent a large amount of active ingredients that are easily soluble in water from being lost, which will affect the efficacy of Chinese medicines.

Chai Jianhua also said: "Water for decocting medicine seems simple, but it is actually complicated. It should be the same as making tea. Water for decocting medicine is the key to the success or failure of decocting medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine has attached great importance to water for decocting medicine. For decocting medicine Famous doctors of all dynasties have strict requirements on water use. For example, Li Shizhen divided the decoction water into rainwater, dew water, snow water, etc. These waters are all natural distilled water, which is less hard than ordinary spring water, river water, and well water Pure, which can minimize the impact on the active ingredients of the medicine. When decocting Chinese medicine, you should use cold boiled water that has been boiled and then cooled.”

He also warned: "I cook Chinese medicine at home, first soak the medicinal materials in cold water, pour the Chinese medicine into the medicine pot, add cold water, and soak for 30 minutes. In this way, if the medicine is mainly fruits and seeds, it can be soaked for 1 hour. In winter, the soaking time can be extended appropriately. After wetting the medicinal materials, due to the static pressure of water and the action of capillaries, they enter the gaps and cracks of the medicinal materials, penetrate into the cell tissue, make the dry wrinkled cells expand, restore the permeability, and the water will It can further penetrate into the cells, making it easier to decoct the active ingredients. In addition, it should be noted that boiling water should not be used for soaking traditional Chinese medicines, as this will cause the proteins and starches on the surface of the traditional Chinese medicines to be quickly coagulated or gelatinized by heat, making it difficult for the active ingredients to be released.”

What are the requirements for the amount of decoction plus water?

Chai Jianhua put the medicine into the medicine pot, and said: "In the first decoction, add water so as to cover the medicine surface by 1-2cm, and in the second decoction, add an appropriate amount of water, but it should submerge the medicine surface. Generally, it is best to pay attention when decocting medicine. Cover it, and it is not advisable to open the lid frequently, otherwise the smell will be easily lost and the efficacy of the medicine will be reduced."

According to Chai Jianhua's request, Pan Tianliang started to boil Chinese medicine.

Should the decoction be decocted on a high fire or a low fire?

Chai Jianhua: The ancients were very particular about the heat of the decoction. Liang Tao Hongjing of the Southern Dynasties pointed out: "Where to cook soup, if you want to have a low fire, make it boil." This is the basic heat of decocting medicine since ancient times. If the fire is used too quickly, the soup will overflow, and the soup may be boiled dry, which will not only cause waste of medicinal materials, but also destroy the heat-labile active ingredients, and disperse the aroma. Slowly decocting with slow fire is the decoction requirement for general decoctions. It should be based on the principle of "fire first and then fire slowly". The purpose of the evaporation of water is to decoct more active ingredients. The heat of the decoction also depends on the nature of the medicinal materials. The superficial medicine is better than Qi, and it is decocted suddenly with strong fire; Medicines for treating colds contain a lot of volatile components, which will evaporate when they are boiled for a long time. Anti-inflammatory medicines need to be fried quickly because of their qi, and tonic medicines need to be fried slowly because of their flavor. It is not advisable to decoct more dispersing and fragrant medicines, whichever is raw and loose; for nourishing and greasy medicines, it is advisable to decoct more, whichever is cooked and stop accumulating. "

Chai Jianhua also said: "When decocting medicine, it is necessary to stir every 4-5 minutes, because the active ingredients of the medicine will first dissolve in the water that enters the tissue of the medicinal material, and then diffuse into the water outside the medicinal material. To When the concentration of the internal and external solution of the medicinal material reaches equilibrium, the active ingredient will no longer be dissolved due to the balance of osmotic pressure. Only by stirring or filtering the medicinal liquid, adding water and decocting again, can the active ingredient continue to dissolve.”

"It is advisable to decoct traditional Chinese medicine twice for the treatment of general diseases. First boil it with rapid fire, and calculate the decoction time after the water boils. Generally, the first decoction is 20-30 minutes, and the second decoction is 10-20 minutes. It is used to treat colds. Traditional Chinese medicine or heat-clearing medicine should use strong fire, and the time should be short. The boiling time is 10-20 minutes, and it can be taken while it is hot. The nourishing Chinese medicine used to treat physical deficiency is suitable for 3 times, and the first decoction is 40-50 minutes. The frying time is 20-30 minutes, and the third frying time is 10-20 minutes. Minerals, bone horns, shellfish, crustaceans and tonic medicines whose active ingredients are not easy to be fried are generally suitable for long-term frying, so that the active ingredients can be fully dissolved. Frequent stirring is required during the above decocting process. The traditional Chinese medicine should be decocted at least twice. Too few decocting times will result in incomplete extraction and a large loss of medicinal materials; too many decocting times will not only consume labor and fuel, but also increase impurities in the decocted liquid. .Generally, the remaining active ingredients of a pair of traditional Chinese medicine have been greatly reduced after being decocted twice, so it is better to decoct twice. But for the prescription with a large amount of medicine, the active ingredients that may remain after two decoctions If there are more, you can fry it a third time.”

How to take Chinese medicine correctly?

The habit of many people is to decoct one dose of traditional Chinese medicine twice, and take the juice and the second juice separately. In fact, this way of eating is unscientific. Because the ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine are relatively complex, the dissolution rate is not uniform, and the content of soluble glycosides, polysaccharides, volatile oils and other active ingredients is more in the first decoction, while other active ingredients are less decocted; , alkaloids, etc. are more decocted, so the active ingredients of the two decoctions are inconsistent, and the efficacy is also very different. Therefore, when taking traditional Chinese medicine, you should generally combine the traditional Chinese medicine liquid that has been decocted for 2 or 3 times, stir it evenly and divide it into 2 or 3 parts to take separately, so that the medicinal effect can be maximized.

Chai Jianhua told Pan Tianliang the precautions for oral Chinese medicine:

During the period of taking traditional Chinese medicine, you should pay attention to avoid raw, cold, sticky and spicy food in terms of diet, and there is no need to supplement vitamins. People with febrile venereal diseases should avoid spicy, spicy, greasy and hard-to-digest foods, tobacco and alcohol; cold venereal diseases should not eat raw or cold food; jaundice, allergic diseases, ulcers, tumors and certain skin diseases should not eat fish, shrimp and other fishy food And irritating food; patients with edema should not eat salt; blood supplements should not drink tea, etc.

Time to take traditional Chinese medicine: Tonic and stomach medicine should be taken before meals to increase the absorption rate of the active ingredients of the medicine. Spicy and irritating drugs should be taken after meals to reduce stomach irritation. It is advisable to take the deworming or attacking medicine on an empty stomach to enhance the efficacy of the medicine. When treating malaria, it is advisable to take the medicine before the onset of malaria. When using sedatives, the medicine should be taken before going to bed. Those who are acutely ill should take the medicine as soon as possible regardless of time.

Generally, traditional Chinese medicine decoctions are mostly taken warmly. According to the needs of the condition and treatment, cold clothes are also used for those with fever, and hot clothes are used for those with cold.

After Chai Jianhua told Pan Tianliang and his wife about the knowledge and requirements of boiling traditional Chinese medicine, he and He Jiafu came to Lao Pan's bedside.