Can the Chinese medicine I boil myself be kept overnight?

Traditional Chinese medicine is a good treatment that cannot be ignored in modern life, because the medicinal properties of traditional Chinese medicine are very mild and can be specifically configured according to needs, so the side effects on the human body can be reduced to a minimum. Modern people also like to make their own Chinese medicine. This is convenient and can grasp the characteristics of the medicine. However, can the Chinese medicine made by yourself be kept overnight? Let’s take a look at the explanation below.

cannot!

Traditional Chinese medicine contains starch, sugar, protein, vitamins, volatile oils, amino acids, various enzymes, trace elements and other ingredients. Most of these ingredients are dissolved in the soup during decocting.

Through the study of the solubility rate of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine decoctions, it was found that precipitation reactions would affect the active ingredients in the decoctions. Most Chinese medicines are made up of combinations of multiple Chinese medicinal herbs, and decoctions have also become a multi-ingredient system. In this system, various chemical reactions can occur between various chemical components to produce precipitates. Such as tannins and proteins, alkaloids, and glycosides. When biological alkaloids meet glycosides and organic acids, precipitation reactions will occur to generate new water-insoluble compounds that precipitate from the solution.

If the drug solution is left for a long time, it creates conditions for precipitation reaction to occur. The more sediment there is, the less effective ingredients there are. If we carefully observe the medicine solution that has been left for a long time, we can find that the upper layer becomes clearer and the lower layer is a precipitate, part of which is the product of the precipitation reaction. visible. Chinese herbal decoctions that have been left overnight should not be taken and it is better to finish them on the same day.

If you are decocting Chinese medicine yourself, the time required is also important. When decocting medicine by yourself, it is usually decocted twice a day, once in the morning and once again in the evening. However, you cannot decoct medicine in this way in summer. Instead, you should decoct it once, then add water and decoct it a second time and take it in the evening. The decocted medicine should be promptly stored in the refrigerator at low temperature and should be heated before drinking. It should be pointed out that it is generally not recommended to take Chinese herbal decoctions that you cook yourself overnight.

Experts particularly emphasize that some people put medicinal materials in the refrigerator to extend their storage time, which is also inappropriate. Putting medicinal materials together with other foods not only makes it easy for various bacteria to invade the medicinal materials, but the humidity in the refrigerator is high, and the medicinal materials are also easily affected by moisture and mold. The air humidity is relatively high in summer, so it is best to place medicinal materials in a ventilated and dry place.