Decoctions administration

Decoction is the most common form of administration of Chinese herbal medicine. Decoctions are usually taken orally. They can be absorbed quickly and have the strongest action of all of the traditional types of preparation. 

Li X, Xiao H, Liang X, Shi D and Liu J, LC-MS/MS determination of naringin, hesperi-din and neohesperidin in rat serum after orally administrating the decoction of Bulpleu-rumfalcatum L. and Fractus aurantii. J Pharm BiomedAnal 34 159-166 (2004). 

Some of the publications consulted for this review offered insufficient description of use, lacking information about route of administration and the recipes concerning the medicines , as can be observed in Tables 1 and 2. In the cases in which they are described, recipes may include teas (infusion or decoction), bottled brews, or extract - in natura. While, route of administration may be ingestion and topical (in the form of bathing). 

During administration, about one gram of dried plant material is boiled with two glasses of water for about half an hour and the black, bitter decoction is drunk twice a day (Shrestha et al., 2007). 

Method of administration Traditionally it is advised that one eat rice soup after taking this decoction in order to promote perspiration. 

Method of administration Grind equal amounts of the first 9 ingredients and half as much Licorice into a fine powder. Take 6g each time (cooked) with raw Rhizoma Zingiberis (Sheng Jiang) and Herba Menthae (Bo He). It may also be taken as a decoction without grinding the medicinals. 

Method of preparation administration Grind equal amounts of the above medicinals into a fine powder and take 0.5-lg in the early morning on an empty stomach. Follow this with a warm decoction made from 10 pieces of Fructus Zizyphi Jujubae (Da Zao), thus the name of this formula. Except for Red Dates, these ingredients will lose their effectiveness if cooked. 

Method of administration Grind the above 6 medicinals into fine powder and mix with honey to form pills. Take 9g each time, 1-2 times per day with warm water. This formula can also be taken as a decoction, in which case one should reduce the dosages proportionately. 

Method of preparation administration Grind 6 parts Talcum to 1 part Licorice and take 9-18g each time with warm water. These ingredients may also be decocted, in which case Talcum should be placed in a fine cloth bag. 

Method of preparation administration Precook the two calcined ingredients before adding the other medicinals to the decoction. Grind the Galla Rhi Chinensis into a fine powder, divide into 2 portions, and take 1 portion with the strained decoction, 2 times per day. 

Method of preparation administration Carbonize equal parts of the above medicinals in a sealed container and then grind into a fine powder. Take 9-15g of this powder made into pills mixed with ink made from a Chinese inkstick ground in either lotus root juice or white radish juice. However, this powder can also be added to other formulas as a heat-clearing hemostatic ingredient. It can also be prepared as a decoction on its own. 

Juniper decoction decreased glycemic level in normoglycemic rats at a dose of 250 mg/kg. The administration of the decoction to STZ diabetic rats resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose levels and in the mortality index. It was suggested that this effect may be mediated by the peripheral action of juniper [150],... 

PsacaUum decomposiium (Asteraceae) Roots (Mexico) The root decoction of P. decomposiium reduced the blood glucose of normal mice from 49.1 3.8 to 35.7 + 22.0 mg/dL after i.p. administration and significantly lowered the hyperglycemic peak (17.1%) in rabbits with temporal hyperglycemia [117]. 

It is known, among other vernacular names, as "Hierba de San Nicolas", and "Hierba del Tabardillo". The decoction of the leaves and flowers, but also the roots, is drunk as a remedy against gastrointestinal disorders, specially stomachache, dysentery and diarrhea. A preparation of the branches by rectal administration reduces fever and the decoction is drunk for the same purpose in the case of typhus [13]. 

No malformations were found in fetuses of rats treated with doses up to 10.3 g/kg prepared Sichuan aconite, although the body weight and food consumption were reduced in the pregnant rats. Fetuses of rats administered 8.3 g/kg of Aconitum kusnezoffii had a reduction in body length and breastbone calcification (Xiao et al. 2005). The dosage form and route of administration used in this study was not specified in the English language abstract but is likely to have been a decoction administered orally (Xiao et al. 2005). 

The LD50 of a decoction of processed Chinese arisaema orally administered in mice could not be determined at doses up to 150 g/kg. After intraperitoneal administration, the LD50 of the same extract in mice is 13.5 g/kg (Chen and Chen 2004). 

No adverse effects of aged tangerine peel were reported after administration of a 50% decoction to dogs at doses of 3 ml/kg (Chen and Chen 2004). 

In mice orally administered 30 g/kg of a decoction of Chinese yam daily for 10 days, blood glucose levels decreased by 10 to 30 mg/dl. The same extract and dose controlled the normally sharp increase of glucose following intraperitoneal administration of glucose (Chen and Chen 2004). An ethanol extract of Chinese yam orally administered to diabetic rats significantly reduced blood insulin and glucose levels (Gao et al. 2007). 

The LD50 of a 1 20 meadowsweet decoction intraperito-neally administered to mice is 1050 mg/kg in females and 535 mg/kg in males. The LDgg of the decoction in rabbits is 141.5 mg/kg after intravenous administration (Barnaulov et al. 1977). 

Mice fed a "gross overdose" of ginkgo seed for 60 days were observed to have weight loss, poor appetite, liver damage, and glomerulonephritis, and some animals died. Intravenous administration of ginkgo seed extract caused an increase followed by a decrease in blood pressure, dyspnea, seizures, and death (Anonymous 1989, 1995). Decoctions of the seed are recognized as nontoxic (Bensky et al. 2004 Chen and Chen 2004). 

A reduction in glycemic levels in healthy rats was observed after administration of 250 mg/kg of a decoction of juniper. In diabetic rats, a reduction in blood glucose levels was observed after oral administration of a decoction of juniper equivalent to 125 mg/kg of berries daily for 24 days (De Medina et al. 1994). 

A decoction of lycium fruit had a stimulating effect on the uterus in rabbits (dose and route of administration not specified in available translation) (Chen and Chen 2004). Based on that study, one reference text on Chinese herbal medicine indicates that lycium fruit should be used with caution in pregnancy (Chen and Chen 2004), while another text does not list any cautions in pregnancy (Bensky et al. 2004). 

The LDgo values of a magnolia bark decoction are 6.12 g/kg after intraperitoneal administration in mice, 4.25 g/kg after intravenous administration in cats, and could not be determined at doses up to 60 g/kg after oral administration in mice (Chen and Chen 2004). 

In two human lymphoma cell lines, administration of a decoction of pomegranate husk did not induce chromosomal aberrations but did induce apoptotic DNA fragmentation (Settheetham and Ishida 1995). 

The LD50 of orally administered aqueous and ethanolic extracts of evodia could not be determined at doses up to 10 g/kg (Yang 2008). The LD50 of aqueous extracts of processed (cooked with a licorice decoction) or unprocessed evodia could not be determined at doses up to 40 g/kg (route of administration not specified in English language abstract) (Hong et al. 2008). 

The LD50 values of different preparations of coltsfoot flower bud in mice are 124 g/kg after oral administration of a decoction, 112 g/kg after intraperitoneal administration of an alcohol extract, and 43 g/kg after intraperitoneal administration of an ether extract (Chen and Chen 2004). Overdose of the flower bud led to restlessness, excitation, mania, increased respiration, muscle stiffness, tremor, and muscle spasms (Chen and Chen 2004). 

Fig. 69.4 HPLC-DAD chromatograms monitored at 280 nm of rat (a) urine, (b) bile, and (c) plasma before and after administration of rhubarb decoction [49]...

The most outstanding clinical results are improved resistance to the adverse effects of antitumor medicines and protection of the blood formation system. In clinical trials, the administration of ginseng tablets for 30 days raised the WBC by 64.5% [81]. In an other trial, a ginseng decoction improved the brain and immune functions in old patients v ith cancer [82]. 

Shodhana aims at removal of the causative factors of somatic and psychosomatic diseases. The process involves internal and external purification. The usual practices involved are Panchkarma (medically induced emesis, purgation, oil enema, decoction enema, and nasal administration of medicines) and pie-panchkarma procedures (external and internal oleation and induced sweating). Panchkarma treatment focuses on metabolic management. It provides needed purificatory effect, besides conferring therapeutic benefits. This treatment is especially helpful in neurological... 

Polyphenolic compounds are determined mainly in the plasma, rather than in whole blood and in urine. The research, in the majority of cases, relate to samples from patients who take dietary supplements containing polyphenols or are on a diet rich in such compounds. Biological fluid samples are collected at different time intervals after the administration of the herbal preparation (e.g., Hippophae rhamnoides (20), Hawthorn leaves flavonoids (21), GegenQinlian decoction (22), Flos Lonicerae japonicae (23)) containing different amounts of polyphenols. The isolation and preconcentration of analytes of these samples usually precedes the enzymatic hydrolysis (24—28) or acid hydrolysis (20), which is based on the conversion of glucuronide and sulfate derivatives of polyphenolic compounds formed in phase II metabolism to the basic forms of polyphenols. To carry out the enzymatic hydrolysis there are... 

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