Are Chinese Medicines Better Fresh or Aged?
Some people believe that taking Chinese medicine is like eating vegetables—the fresher, the better. So, are Chinese medicines actually better when fresh or aged? Experts state that for common medicinal materials, the fresher the better, but special medicinal materials must be processed before they can be used.
Generally, the fresher the medicine, the better, but a larger dose is needed when decocting it.
When you or a family member has a minor ailment, it is very convenient to pick some fresh leaves or flowers according to a medical book to make a medicinal decoction to drink. The fresher the medicinal material, the better its active ingredients are preserved, and naturally, the better its effect. For example, fresh aloe leaves are more effective than dried aloe leaves. Fresh aloe leaves not only possess all the benefits of dried aloe leaves but also have a milder medicinal nature. In particular, the superoxide dismutase and polysaccharides contained in fresh aloe can enhance human physiological function, promote health, and boost the immune system—effects that dried aloe leaves cannot match. Furthermore, the processing of dried aloe leaves can lead to the loss and destruction of some active ingredients, so its effects are not as comprehensive as those of fresh aloe leaves.
In addition to external application, decocting into a soup is the most common way to take medicine. The decoction method for fresh and aged medicinal materials is the same. It is worth mentioning that if fresh materials are used, they should be decocted with a larger dose because they contain more moisture.
For Chinese medicinal materials that require processing, fresh ones are not as good as aged ones.
To reduce drug toxicity, facilitate preservation, or alter the direction of the drug's therapeutic effects, some medicines must be processed. In such cases, fresh medicinal materials are not as good as aged ones.
Chinese medicine can sometimes be like a wild horse; to control it, you need a rein. The processing procedure in Chinese medicine is equivalent to this rein. For example, toxic medicines like Pinellia ternata, Arisaema erubescens, and jequirity beans must be processed to reduce their toxicity before they can be used. Five jequirity beans can be fatal. These medicines not only need to be aged, but their decoction time should also be extended.
Furthermore, the rein can change the direction of the wild horse's progress. For instance, the wine-processing method: wine can potentiate the drug's action, change its properties, and guide the drug to act on the upper part of the body. For example, Coptis chinensis is mainly used to clear damp-heat and stagnation in the gastrointestinal tract; after wine-processing, it can clear heat-fire in the upper jiao. Wine can also invigorate the blood vessels; therefore,活血化瘀 (huoxue huayu) blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicines like Chuanxiong and Achyranthes are often prepared as wine preparations, which have a synergistic effect and can improve therapeutic efficacy.
Aged medicines are easier to store than fresh ones, which is also one of the reasons why they are more common. In conclusion, different medicines and different purposes require different methods of administration. Whether to use fresh or aged medicines requires a certain amount of pharmaceutical knowledge, and one should follow a doctor's advice when taking medication.