Processing of medicinals

Abbreviation: processing. The processing of medicinal materials by washing, cutting,frying, etc. Many materials may be purchased ready-processed. Apart from some basic forms ofpreparation such as crushing, grating, grinding, andcutting, most of these processes fall within three categories: fire processing, water processing, and fire and water processing.

Methods Water processing includessoaking and long rinsing. See entries listedbelow.

Processing of Medicinals

Basic Processing

• Cutting
• Crushing
• Grating
• Flaking
• Grinding

Water Processing

• Washing
• Covered moistening
• Soaking
• Long rinsing
• Water-grinding

Fire Processing

• Stir-frying
  • Plain stir-frying
  • Light stir-frying
  • Scorch-frying
  • Blast-frying
  • Char-frying
• Stir-frying with adjuvants
  • Stir-frying with clamshell powder
  • Stir-frying with earth
  • Stir-frying with bran
  • Stir-frying with rice
• Mix-frying
  • Mix-frying with honey
  • Mix-frying with brine
  • Mix-frying with ginger
  • Mix-frying with vinegar
  • Mix-frying with wine
• Roasting
• Stone-baking
• Calcination

Fire and Water Processing

• Boiling
• Double-boiling
• Steaming
• Distillation

Other

• Frosting

Aims: Processing aims to eliminate or reduce toxicity, enhance action, or alter properties.

Elimination or reduction of toxicity: For example, raw pinellia (Pinelliae Tuber Crudum, 生半夏 shēng bàn xià) is treated with fresh ginger(Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, 生姜 shēng jiāng), alum (Alumen,白矾 bái fán), or licorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix, 甘草 gān cǎo) to prevent poisoning and sore throat. The toxicity of kansui (Kansui Radix, 甘遂 gānsuì) is reduced by boiling in vinegar. The precipitating action of croton (Crotonis Fructus, 巴豆 bā dòu) is moderated by removing its oil content. Dichroa (Dichroae Radix, 常山 cháng shān) is stir-fried with wine to eliminate its emetic side effect.

Enhancement action: Processing can enhance the effectivenessof some agents. For example, when corydalis (Corydalis Rhizoma, 延胡索 yán húsuǒ) is treated with vinegar, it has a stronger pain-relieving effect. When coltsfoot (Farfarae Flos, 款冬花 kuǎn dōng huā) is mix-fried with honey,it has a greater lung-moistening cough-relieving action and checks diarrhea more effectively. Bupleurum (Bupleuri Radix, 柴胡 chái hú) mix-fried with vinegar has agreater liver-coursing and depression-resolving action.

Alteration of properties: Some medicinals have different actions depending on whether or not they are processed. For example, rehmannia (Rehmanniae Radix, 地黄dì huáng) is cold in nature and has a blood-cooling action when raw, but is warm in nature and supplements the blood when steamed with wine (Chinese rice wine). Typha pollen (Typhae Pollen, 蒲黄 pú huáng) moves the blood and resolves stasis when rawand can check bleeding when stir-fried. The change action is determined by the nature and action of the adjuvant.

• Processing with wine tends to check a medicinal’s cold nature and make it bear upward. Processing with ginger makes it warm, disperse, and sweep phlegm. Processing with honey sweetens a medicinal, and helps it to moisten dryness and boost the origin. Processing with salt makes a medicinal enter the kidney, makes it move downward and soften hardness.
• Processing with vinegar makes it enter the liver, and enables it to promote astriction and relieve pain. Processing with earth (oven earth), makes a medicinal fortify the spleen and stomach and harmonize the center. Processing with rice eliminates dryness and nourishes the stomach.
• Processing with bran eliminates the harshness of a medicinal and prevents it fromdamaging the stomach. Soaking in black bean and licorice decoction resolves an agent’s toxin and enhances its supplementing action. Compare medicinal preparation.