Chinese Herbal Medicine

Chinese Herbal Medicine is a 3,000+-year-old practice that utilizes about 365 materials, such as roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers, seeds, minerals, shells, or animal materials. Our text, The Materia Medica of Chinese Herbal Medicine, details formulas and their therapeutic uses. This book organizes herbs into individual herbs' categories, properties, functions, and contraindications. Traditional herbal prescriptions are formulated using a combination of herbs that work synergistically to balance disharmonies in the body and spirit.

 

Traditionally, herbal formulas were taken as decoctions, which means they used dried raw herbs boiled in liquid, usually water, to extract their beneficial properties and consumed as hot tea. 

 

Today, herbal formulas now come in various forms, such as:

Granules or herbal extract powders: The granules are dissolved in warm water to make tea and have a consistency similar to smooth instant coffee.

 

Granules are the result of a process that starts as a raw herb decoction that captures the synergetic effects of the herbs. The liquid decoction is then sent through a slow drying process to create a concentrated paste that is later ground into a fine, free-flowing extract granule. 

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Teapills, capsules, or tablets:  Taken orally as pills.

 

Teapills and tablets begin as loose granules decocted and extracted into a concentration system where the liquid slowly evaporates until the optimal herb-to-solute ratio is reached. Once finished, they are transferred to a machine that presses them into a teapill or tablet shape.

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Tinctures or extracts: Liquid taken orally by placing on or under tongue.

 

Herbal extracts, derived from whole or 'raw' herbs, offer many of the same benefits with greater convenience. They are typically in an alcohol base, but children's formulas are often made using a glycerin base.

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Topical linaments: Applied topically.

 

Raw herbs are ground and made into a poultice, patch, or ointment for musculoskeletal or skin concerns.