Chinese medicine soup is the earliest and most widely used form of Chinese medicine in clinical practice. It is the most widely used form of Chinese medicine in clinical practice. It is suitable for the principle of diagnosis and treatment in Chinese medicine, and has the characteristics of easy preparation and rapid absorption. However, people are often overwhelmed by the packets of Chinese medicine, so we would like to introduce you some knowledge of decoction of Chinese medicine. The quality of Chinese herbal soup is closely related to the decoction apparatus used. Nowadays, it is still better to use casserole because the material of casserole is stable and does not chemically react with drug ingredients, and its heat transfer is even and gentle, which is one of the reasons why it has been used since ancient times. In addition, you can also use enamel pots, stainless steel pots and glass fryers. However, iron or copper pots cannot be used, mainly because they are chemically unstable and easily oxidized. When decocting the medicine can react with the chemical components contained in the Chinese medicine, such as with tannin components can generate iron ellagic acid, making the color of the liquid deepen. With flavonoids, it can produce a refractory polymer. With organic acids, salts can be formed. All of these can affect the quality of the decoction and are directly related to the clinical efficacy of the Chinese medicine decoction. The amount of water added to the decoction is also very important, and the amount of water added directly affects the quality of the decoction. If less water is added, the decoction will be impermeable and the active ingredients will not be completely leached out. If more water is added, the decoction will be too much, and it will be inconvenient for the patient to take the medicine. Chinese herbs have different textures, and their water absorption varies greatly, so the amount of water added is generally controlled at 5-10 times. The same weight of drugs, loose texture of its volume is large, water absorption is naturally more. The volume of the solid texture is small, and the water absorption is small. Therefore, for decocting flowers, leaves, and whole herbs, the amount of water added should be more. If you decoct mineral and shell drugs, add less water. The traditional method of adding water is to put the drug into the pot and add water to exceed the surface of the drug by 3-5 cm for the first decoction and by 3 cm for the second decoction. This method of adding water is easy to follow and easy to master. This is because Chinese herbal medicines from plants are mostly dried products, soaking with water can make the herbs soften and restore their natural state after tissue cell expansion, which makes it easy to leach out the active ingredients when decocting. Generally, for drugs mainly from flowers, leaves and stems, the soaking time is 1-1.5 hours. The soaking time is 2-3 hours for drugs mainly from roots, seeds, rhizomes and fruits. 2, the number of decoction to decoct several times than a long decoction effect. It has been proved that the decoction of soup twice can decoct about 80% of the ingredients, so it is appropriate to decoct twice or three times. 3, the temperature of decoction The temperature of decoction is called “fire” in Chinese medicine, which is usually called “Wenhuo” or “Wuhuo”. Wenhuo is a weak fire, the temperature rises slowly and the water evaporates slowly. The so-called martial fire is a strong fire, the temperature rises quickly, and the water evaporates quickly. If the decoction is too strong, the water evaporates quickly, which affects the leaching of the active ingredients and makes it easy to paste the pot. Conversely, a weak fire will make the decoction less effective. Generally, the fire is used before boiling, and then after boiling, the fire is changed to a mild boiling state to slow down the evaporation of water, which is conducive to the decoction of active ingredients. 4.Decoction time is mainly based on the nature of the drug and the disease, as well as the condition of the drug. Generally, it takes 20-30 minutes for the first decoction to start boiling, and 30-40 minutes for the second decoction. For cold medicine, the first decoction takes 10-15 minutes, and the second decoction takes 15-20 minutes. For tonic drugs, the first decoction takes 30-40 minutes, and the second decoction takes 40-50 minutes. 5. The amount of liquid to be taken generally refers to the amount of liquid after a dose of medicine is combined by two decoctions. For adults, take 400-600ml and divide it into two doses daily. For children, take 200-300ml and divide it into two to three doses daily. 6.How to take medicine Generally, a dose of medicine is decocted twice and then the liquid is combined and taken in two doses. Children can take it in 2-3 times. For the treatment of cold, fever, enteritis and diarrhea, you can also use the method of taking the medicine frequently, that is, once every 4 hours, 30-40 ml each time, and then change to 2-3 times a day when the disease is healed, and for children, it is better to take a small amount several times. 7.Decoction of special medicine The doctor will prescribe the medicine with footnote in the prescription according to the patient’s condition and the nature of the medicine. (1) First decoction: Generally, some minerals, shells and horny nails are not easy to be decocted because of their hard texture and active ingredients. The common ones are raw gypsum, raw keel, mother-of-pearl, raw ochre and so on. Another toxic drug first decoction, long decoction can achieve the purpose of reducing or removing toxicity. For example, aconite can be decomposed into aconitine, and its toxicity is only 1/2000 of the original, such as aconite decoction can not only reduce toxicity but also increase the cardiotonic effect. (2) after the drug: generally aromatic smell containing volatile oil or not easy to long decoction of drugs, to be put into the pot 10-15 minutes before the drug decoction. Common ones are Huo Xiang, Hooked vine, Rhubarb, etc. Such as hook vine contains vine alkali, decoction time of more than 20 minutes its antihypertensive components are easily destroyed. Rhubarb, the component with laxative effect to clear heat, is rhubarb glucoside, but it is unstable to heat and will be decomposed by prolonged heating. The laxative effect of rhubarb glucoside is stronger than that of glucoside, so it is not easy to decoct for a long time, and the method is mostly used afterwards. (3) package decoction: generally seeds and pollen drugs, gauze bags into the group of drugs decoction. The common ones are psyllium, spineflower, etc. Such as psyllium easy to stick to the pot paste, caramelization. Therefore, it needs to be decocted. The decoction of the flower can avoid the hair to fall off and mix into the soup to irritate the throat. (4) Dissolve: Use hot liquid to dissolve the drug and then take it. Common drugs are Xuanming powder, mannitol. (5) Melting service: mainly some gums are melted with hot liquid and then taken. If mixed decoction will make the liquid viscous, affecting the leaching of other ingredients, gum drugs also have a certain loss, so the melting method of taking. The common ones are raw gum, deer horn gum, turtle board gum. (6) another decoction into: some valuable drugs should be decocted separately, and then the liquid into the medicine to take together. The common ones are ginseng, American ginseng, deer antler, etc. (7) Punching: Some precious drugs can not be decocted with the group of drugs, more use the method of punching, that is, the powder dissolved in the liquid to take. This is not only conducive to the role of drugs but also can save herbs. The common ones are Panax ginseng noodles, antelope horn noodles, niuhuang noodles, etc.