If a traditional Chinese medicine prescription wants to achieve good curative effect, the container for decocting Chinese medicine is very important.
So you know What type of pot should I use when decocting herbs?
Glass And metal utensils should not be used
Metal utensils are generally not used as decoction containers.
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Iron utensils should not be used as decoction containers.
It is clearly recorded in “Compendium of Materia Medica”: “Iron, pungent, flat, poisonous…. All herbal and tree medicines should avoid ironware, but kidney tonifying medicines should avoid it.”
Modern studies have shown that herbal medicines are mostly acidic or alkaline, rarely neutral, and more It contains tannins, organic acids, phenolic hydroxyl compounds and other ingredients, which will react with iron ions; some plants contain flavonoids, which can also form insoluble substances with metal iron, which will affect the efficacy of the drug.
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There are also problems with choosing copper utensils as containers for decocting Chinese medicine.
Li Shizhen said: “Bronze utensils contain food, tea and wine, which are poisonous at night. Decoction and drinking will damage people’s voice.”
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Modern studies have found that copper is prone to chemical reactions with traditional Chinese medicine soup under high temperature conditions, changing the composition of many substances, or decocting Precipitation occurs during the process, which affects the curative effect and preservation of the decoction.
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In addition, stainless steel pots for boiling Chinese medicine are not recommended.
Stainless steel pots have the advantages of light texture and fast heating. Now many families use stainless steel pots for cooking.
But experiments show that For frying Chinese medicine, stainless steel pots are not suitable.
A study found that, Long-term use of stainless steel utensils to decoct medicinal liquid will dissolve heavy metals such as cadmium, nickel, and chromium in stainless steel, which will affect human health.
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In addition, It is best not to use a glass container for decocting Chinese medicine, because it is often necessary to boil the Chinese medicine soup with a high fire, and glass is often not resistant to fire. Easy to burst.
Clay pots and porcelain are Preferred
Among the utensils for frying traditional Chinese medicine that can be selected at present, the common ones are pottery (earth pot, casserole), porcelain and so on.
Boiling Chinese medicine is the best Better still use a casserole.
Compendium of Materia Medica Record: “(casserole) is burnt in sandy soil. It eliminates the accumulation of yellow and swollen. If it has been used for a long time, grind it into powder, fly over water, make pills, and take five dollars for each wine.”< /p>
Modern research has found that casserole has stable chemical properties and is not easy to mix with traditional Chinese medicine ingredients There is a reaction, and the influence on the property of the medicine is relatively small.
Some scholars put casserole Compared with the metal decoction machine, the same Ganmao Qingre prescription was decocted separately, and the obtained traditional Chinese medicine liquid was compared, and the content of active ingredients such as acteoside in the decoction liquid was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. In the decocted traditional Chinese medicine liquid, the content of acteoside is significantly higher than that decocted with a decoction machine.Chinese medicinal liquid.
Visible, want The vessel for decocting medicine is also very important for Chinese medicine prescriptions to exert their curative effect. It is recommended that you choose a suitable pot for boiling medicine before boiling Chinese medicine.