Processing (Chinese materia medica)
Encyclopedia
Processing in Chinese materia medica (Chinese herbology
) is the technique of altering the properties of crude medicine
s by processing using heat and combination with various materials in a kind of alchemical approach to preparation.
There are also more esoteric traditions of processing, including those involving mercury
, but the term is used to refer to the more common preparations. For instance, frying with wine is believed to enhance the circulatory properties of herbs. Frying with salt is believed to draw the herbal actions to the kidneys. Otherwise cooling herbs may be warmed up by heated techniques. These techniques have been applied to Western herbal medicine in the David Winston
Center for Herbal Studies for the last 20 years.
, although the latter technique is more complex and may involve prayers as well as physical techniques. A study of the effectiveness of the Ayurvedic equivalent of Pao Zhi was printed in the Journal of Postgrad Medicine discusses aconite, a derivative of the plant genus Aconitum
, a genus that includes monkshoods:
Chinese herbology
Chinese Herbology is the theory of Traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in Traditional Chinese medicine ....
) is the technique of altering the properties of crude medicine
Crude medicine
Crude medicine , are bulk drugs from the Chinese materia medica basic processing and treatment.- Overview :...
s by processing using heat and combination with various materials in a kind of alchemical approach to preparation.
Methods
Pao Zhi processing may involve such means as roasting, honey frying, wine frying, earth frying, vinegar frying, calcining, or other means. This is a kind of alchemical processing used in everyday preparation of herbal, mineral and animal medicinals.There are also more esoteric traditions of processing, including those involving mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, but the term is used to refer to the more common preparations. For instance, frying with wine is believed to enhance the circulatory properties of herbs. Frying with salt is believed to draw the herbal actions to the kidneys. Otherwise cooling herbs may be warmed up by heated techniques. These techniques have been applied to Western herbal medicine in the David Winston
David Winston
David Winston RH is an American herbalist and ethnobotanist. He has been in practice and teaching since 1977 and has written several books on the subject. He works in the Cherokee, Chinese and the Western eclectic herbal traditions...
Center for Herbal Studies for the last 20 years.
Ayurveda
The technique is somewhat similar to the Ayurvedic samskarasSamskara (Ayurvedic)
A samskara is a process in ayurvedic medicine claimed to detoxify heavy metals and toxic herbs.In ayurveda, toxic ingredients, which sometimes include heavy metals such as mercury, are claimed to be purified using a process of prayer and pharmacy...
, although the latter technique is more complex and may involve prayers as well as physical techniques. A study of the effectiveness of the Ayurvedic equivalent of Pao Zhi was printed in the Journal of Postgrad Medicine discusses aconite, a derivative of the plant genus Aconitum
Aconitum
Aconitum , known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, women's bane, Devil's helmet or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the buttercup family .-Overview:These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly natives of the mountainous parts of the...
, a genus that includes monkshoods:
Crude aconite is an extremely lethal substance. However, the science of Ayurveda looks upon aconite as a therapeutic entity. Crude aconite is always processed i.e. it undergoes "samskaras" before being utilised in the Ayurvedic formulations. This study was undertaken in mice, to ascertain whether "processed" aconite is less toxic as compared to the crude or unprocessed one. It was seen that crude aconite was significantly toxic to mice (100% mortality at a dose of 2.6 mg/mouse) whereas the fully processed aconite was absolutely non-toxic (no mortality at a dose even 8 times as high as that of crude aconite). Further, all the steps in the processing were essential for complete detoxification.