"treatise On The Decoction Decoction And Decoction Preparation Standardized

The Decoction was the principal formulation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which can best manifest the holism concept and the characteristics of treatment based on the syndrome. It has been played an important role in clinical for thousands of years. But these days, the use of it greatly reduced due to the rapid development of the society and the shortcomings of itself, for example, the complicated preparing processes, the too short guarantee period, the poor taste, etc. In order to promote the application of it, the reform of the formulation-changed was carried out at present. And some progresses have been made, but for many subjects were involved in and the complexity of the herbs, many problems still remained. The improvement of preparing processes is another way to enhance the use of the Decoction, which is very necessary for solving the problems of preparation, storage and carrying. The development of new decocting apparatus and the optimization of decocting processes can make it more feasible. And many ancient physicians accumulated a wealth of experience in this area. The "Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases" was just the best example which could guarantee the decocting processes reasonable and standard.Aimed at the problems of the decoction prepared, this paper studied the methods of the decoctum prepared in "Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases", and summarized the laws of them, willing to provide some references for drawing up specifications of modern decoction prepared. The content is comprised of two parts:1 Study on the methods of the decoctum prepared in "Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases"(1) The extracting solvent used for the decoctum preparedThe functions of the extracting solvents used for the decoctum prepared were studied according to the text, and the successors'inheritance and development in application were discussed. It was found that different extracting solvents with different nature had different functions, and the use of them was based on the syndrome and the herbs used.(2)The special methods of the decoctum preparedThe special methods of the decoctum prepared included the special methods of the herbs decocted and the prescriptions decocted. The special methods of the herbs decocted were used flexibly based on the syndrome, for example, the first decocted, the later decocted, took in fine powder, melted by hot decoction, etc. And the first decocted was primarily discussed. Through decocting, the ingredients getting rid of the pathogen can be selected and the efficacy can be optimized. And the use of the decocting methods should consider the syndrome, the herbs, the organism and other factors. The special methods of the prescriptions decocted include concentrating the decoction, dipping the herbs in boiling water for several minutes, blending the decoction prepared respectively, decocting the herbs in predetermined sequence. And the method of concentrating the decoction was primarily studied. The laws of application of it were summarized. In terms of the overall effect of the prescriptions, the decocting methods can improve the quality, optimize the effectiveness and change the active positions. In one word, the preparaing processes of the decoctum showed the holism concept and the general relationship of TCM.(3)The amount of the water addedFirstly, the influence of the dose of drugs was analyzed. According to "Shang Han Lun Lei Fang", the prescriptions were divided into twelve categories such as Guizhi decoction group, Mahuang decoction group, Gegen decoction group, Zhizi decoction group, Chaihu decoction group, etc. The ratio of the volume of the water and the dose of the drugs was calculated and the results were analyzed. For calculating the ratio, the conversion standard of "1 Liang in the Eastern Han Dynast equal to 13.8g today" was adopted for the conversion of the dose of drugs measured by standard unit; Chang da and Guo Guang-yi's data were adopted for the conversion of the dose of drugs measured by non-standard units, except Rhizome Pinellia which can be converted by the standard of "1 liter Rhizome Pinellia approximately equal to 69g" according to some literature; and the conversion of the volume of water was according to the standard of "1 liter in the Eastern Han Dynast equal to 200ml today". It was found that the ratios of most the decoctum were between 5-10, and the ratio of Guizhi decoction which could be the general ratio of decocting in ancient times was basically accordant with the specification written in "Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu". The ratio fluctuated due to the influence of many factors, but the influence of the decocting methods was not obvious. Other factors that influenced the amount of water added were also discussed, for example, the texture or the nature of the herbs, the efficacy of the prescriptions, the types of the extracting solvents. It was concluded that the amount of the water added influenced by many factors, but primarily relevant with the dose of the herbs.(4) The volume of the decoction demandedThe volume of the decoction demanded is another important factor that influences the quality of the decoction. The volume of the decoction demanded of the decoctum prepared in "Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases" was analyzed and the relationship between the volume of demanded and the taking was discussed. It was found that the volume of the decoction demanded was determined by the taking according to the syndrome. It also showed that the decocting was an integral part of the diagnosis and treatment system.(5) The relationship of the volume of water added and the decoction demandedThe volume of the water added and the decoction demanded were two important parameters which affected the quality of the decoction. The difference values and the ratios between them were discussed. It was considered that they can have some guidance in controlling the decocting time. (6)The time of decoctingThe needed time of the decocta prepared was studied based on the conversion of the relevant parameters, such as the dose of drugs, the volume of water added and the decoction demanded. The boiling time was calculated according to the formula that was "the volume of the water added (Q)=the weight of the herbs (W)×the water absorption coefficient (K)+the volume of the decoction demanded (R) + evaporation per minute (V)×decocting time (T)", the water absorption coefficient of the herbs and the evaporation per minute were determined by the studies of somebody these days. The general rules of the decocting time were summarized. It was found that the long time decocted prescriptions were these which contained the herbs need decoct first, such as Herba Ephedrae, Radix Puerariae Lobatae, Dichroae, Herba Artemisiae Scopariae, Poria, the tonifying recipes and the prescriptions which need concentrate the decoction obtained; for the prescriptions of the same category including the yang-reviving and resuscitating prescriptions, cathartic prescriptions, heat-clearing and diaphoretic prescriptions, the decocting time were determined by the efficacy, if the prescription acted more effective, the decocting time was longer, and vice versa; for the prescriptions of the different categories, for example, the warming and cold-dispersing prescriptions, tonifying prescriptions, if the prescription acted more effective, the decocting time was shorter, and vice versa. It was confirmed that the decocting time was an important factor influenced the efficacy of the prescription, which can affect the active trend of the prescriptions and maximize the therapeutic effect.In summary, the methods of the decoctum prepared in "Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases" combined with other aspects guaranteed the efficacy, which still can provide some important guidance for preparing decoctions at present and set a model for us to study.2 Study on the standardization of decoction PreparationThe status of decoction prepared at present was analyzed, and the guarantee of standardization of preparaing the decoction was discussed, such as the facilities, the equipment, etc. According to the study of part one, the methods of decoctum prepared in"Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases" could make the necessary complement for the norms of preparing modern decoction executed at present. And we conceived that the norms of decocting combined with the prescriptions, via adding the decocting element into the prescription used these days. It can make the decoction prepared by the syndrome which could enhance the safety and effectiveness of it.