brewing TCM herb decoctions

[jeanlong]

Hi tcm and All,

This post will interest those who take TCM herbal decoction remedies. I was reviewing some older notes and am trying a new method of making herbal decoctions. This is based on observations from many decades ago and the author of these notes is long ago deceased. It is not how I was trained, but seems to be valid so I'm trying it for the first time tonight.

The idea is like this. Herbs all have useful properties, and in modern terms we would call them "active ingredients," meaning a few key chemical components help us. Some nutrients are apparently damaged by excessive heat. The threshold is around 200F or 195F.

So the method is this - boil water sufficient for the decoction, set it aside and let it cool. Place herbs in the brew pot, and pour cooled boiled water into the cooking vessel. Place the entire container in an oven at 190F for three hours. Strain off the broth and save. Repeat with same herbs for the "second run" and strain off the broth. Mix the broth from the batches together and consume as usual.

This is an attempt to extract the healing nutrients from the herbs without damaging the more volatile ingredients.

I have not paid attention to this old material, but it also states that heating above 210 will not only damage the healing nutrients, but turn some of the stuff into a toxic material that will provoke an immune response. It is contraindicated to boil the herbs for people with severe inflammatory conditions as it will worsen the "heat" response.

I have no idea how well this works or if there is any research to support this. It is very old hand written notes in Chinese which I do not read very well. I inherited from my mother's side of the family. It doesn't match anything my teachers told me. It might work, and I'll be my first guinea pig on this matter. [ I have been thinking about this a lot. It may be that some oily things turn into transfats if boiled? I really don't know. ]


Best regards,
Jean

[tcmgpt13]

Interesting method of decocting Jean, but somehow I doubt this will catch on with those using decoctions and who are fairly sick. That would be me in the past for sure. LOL. To me it is just a lot easier to dump the whole batch of herbs into water and process at a low boil. Anyway, your new method got me to thinking about how some of the herbs in Western herbalism are decocted and I found these directions from the site which sells Amazon herbs. This discussion however goes beyond the simmering and sitting methods for making decoctions I learned in my Western herbal class. In fact the second one resembles that used in Chinese herbalism

I hope you are looking into how some Western grown herbs can be substituted for those that are grown in China where the heavy metal levels in their herbs seem to be rising all the time. There are even some US growers who grow Chinese herbs now. There are several good herbal books out there about this subject which tell you what Western herbs they can be substituted for Chinese herbs. There are a lot of interesting and strong herbs to found where you live in the desert Southwest:

Decoctions
Decoctions are usually the method of choice when working with tougher and more fibrous plants, barks and roots (and which have water soluble chemicals). Instead of just steeping it in hot water, the plant material is boiled for a longer period of time to soften the harder woody material and release its active constituents. To prepare a decoction, select a ceramic pot with a snug fitting lid. Measure the amount of herb needed (usually the same ratio of 1 teaspoon powdered herb or 2 teaspoons of cut herb per 8 ounces of water) into the pot and add the proper amount of cold water depending on how many cups of the decoction you wish to prepare. Turn on the heat to medium high and bring to a roiling boil. Place the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to medium or medium-low so that the mixture stays at a good simmer. Simmer it covered for 20 minutes. If you can see steam escaping or smell the aroma of the herb, your lid is not tight enough and valuable essential oils are escaping. After 20 minutes, remove from heat and cool slightly. If using cut herbs, strain the mixture through a tea strainer into a teacup. When straining, make sure to press on the cut herb pieces in the strainer to get as much liquid/decoction out of the herb pieces as possible. If using powdered herb, allow the powder to settle to the bottom of the pot and then pour off the decoction from the top into a teacup (any sediment missed will settle to the bottom of the teacup). Standard dosages for decoction are generally one-half to one cup, two or three times daily. Again, the entire day's dosage can be prepared in the morning (2-3 cups at one time), and the remainder refrigerated until ready to use later in the day.

Strong Decoctions
Depending on the type of plant material used, strong decoctions are prepared in two general ways. The first involves boiling the mixture longer. This is usually indicated when working with larger woody pieces of bark. Longer boiling time, up to 2 hours or more, is sometimes necessary to break down, soften, and extract the larger pieces. Alternatively, when smaller woody pieces are used yet a stronger remedy is wanted, the decoction is prepared as above (boiling 20 minutes), then it is allowed to sit/soak overnight before straining out the herb. When straining, again, make sure to press on the cut herb pieces in the strainer to get as much moisture/decoction out of the herb pieces.

rain-tree.com/prepmethod.htm

quote=jeanlong;87914]Hi tcm and All,

This post will interest those who take TCM herbal decoction remedies. I was reviewing some older notes and am trying a new method of making herbal decoctions. This is based on observations from many decades ago and the author of these notes is long ago deceased. It is not how I was trained, but seems to be valid so I'm trying it for the first time tonight.

The idea is like this. Herbs all have useful properties, and in modern terms we would call them "active ingredients," meaning a few key chemical components help us. Some nutrients are apparently damaged by excessive heat. The threshold is around 200F or 195F.

So the method is this - boil water sufficient for the decoction, set it aside and let it cool. Place herbs in the brew pot, and pour cooled boiled water into the cooking vessel. Place the entire container in an oven at 190F for three hours. Strain off the broth and save. Repeat with same herbs for the "second run" and strain off the broth. Mix the broth from the batches together and consume as usual.

This is an attempt to extract the healing nutrients from the herbs without damaging the more volatile ingredients.

I have not paid attention to this old material, but it also states that heating above 210 will not only damage the healing nutrients, but turn some of the stuff into a toxic material that will provoke an immune response. It is contraindicated to boil the herbs for people with severe inflammatory conditions as it will worsen the "heat" response.

I have no idea how well this works or if there is any research to support this. It is very old hand written notes in Chinese which I do not read very well. I inherited from my mother's side of the family. It doesn't match anything my teachers told me. It might work, and I'll be my first guinea pig on this matter. [ I have been thinking about this a lot. It may be that some oily things turn into transfats if boiled? I really don't know. ]


Best regards,
Jean[/quote]

[jeanlong]

thanks. I will think about this some more. I took two doses of the herbs prepped in the new method. It works fine. Not sure if the formula will work better or not.

I do use some local herbs, yes. We have aloe in our yard and will start using it.

Originally Posted by tcmgpt13

Interesting method of decocting Jean, but somehow I doubt this will catch on with those using decoctions and who are fairly sick. That would be me in the past for sure. LOL. To me it is just a lot easier to dump the whole batch of herbs into water and process at a low boil. Anyway, your new method got me to thinking about how some of the herbs in Western herbalism are decocted and I found these directions from the site which sells Amazon herbs. This discussion however goes beyond the simmering and sitting methods for making decoctions I learned in my Western herbal class. In fact the second one resembles that used in Chinese herbalism

I hope you are looking into how some Western grown herbs can be substituted for those that are grown in China where the heavy metal levels in their herbs seem to be rising all the time. There are even some US growers who grow Chinese herbs now. There are several good herbal books out there about this subject which tell you what Western herbs they can be substituted for Chinese herbs. There are a lot of interesting and strong herbs to found where you live in the desert Southwest:

Decoctions
Decoctions are usually the method of choice when working with tougher and more fibrous plants, barks and roots (and which have water soluble chemicals). Instead of just steeping it in hot water, the plant material is boiled for a longer period of time to soften the harder woody material and release its active constituents. To prepare a decoction, select a ceramic pot with a snug fitting lid. Measure the amount of herb needed (usually the same ratio of 1 teaspoon powdered herb or 2 teaspoons of cut herb per 8 ounces of water) into the pot and add the proper amount of cold water depending on how many cups of the decoction you wish to prepare. Turn on the heat to medium high and bring to a roiling boil. Place the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to medium or medium-low so that the mixture stays at a good simmer. Simmer it covered for 20 minutes. If you can see steam escaping or smell the aroma of the herb, your lid is not tight enough and valuable essential oils are escaping. After 20 minutes, remove from heat and cool slightly. If using cut herbs, strain the mixture through a tea strainer into a teacup. When straining, make sure to press on the cut herb pieces in the strainer to get as much liquid/decoction out of the herb pieces as possible. If using powdered herb, allow the powder to settle to the bottom of the pot and then pour off the decoction from the top into a teacup (any sediment missed will settle to the bottom of the teacup). Standard dosages for decoction are generally one-half to one cup, two or three times daily. Again, the entire day's dosage can be prepared in the morning (2-3 cups at one time), and the remainder refrigerated until ready to use later in the day.

Strong Decoctions
Depending on the type of plant material used, strong decoctions are prepared in two general ways. The first involves boiling the mixture longer. This is usually indicated when working with larger woody pieces of bark. Longer boiling time, up to 2 hours or more, is sometimes necessary to break down, soften, and extract the larger pieces. Alternatively, when smaller woody pieces are used yet a stronger remedy is wanted, the decoction is prepared as above (boiling 20 minutes), then it is allowed to sit/soak overnight before straining out the herb. When straining, again, make sure to press on the cut herb pieces in the strainer to get as much moisture/decoction out of the herb pieces.

rain-tree.com/prepmethod.htm