Chinese drug therapy - an essential part of TCM
Chinese medicines are exclusively of natural origin
Traditional Chinese drug therapy is one of the basic pillars of Chinese therapeutic options, along with Qi Gong, Tuina, acupuncture and Chinese dietetics. In Europe it is still largely unknown, while in China it accounts for about 80% of all therapeutic measures.
Chinese medicines are mainly (over 90%) herbal products. To a lesser extent, mineral substances are used, such as oyster shells, minerals and gypsum. The third group of Chinese medicines are animal medicines. The protection of endangered plants and animals is strictly observed by pharmacies in Germany.
The herbal formulations use a wide variety of plant parts: Seeds, roots, barks, branches, twigs, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits. For this you can often find the following terms on Chinese recipes:
- Herba (herb)
- Radix (root)
- Rhizoma (rootstock)
- Ramus (branch)
- Ramulus (twig)
- Semen (seed)
- Cortex (bark)
- Flos (flower)
- Fruktus (fruit)
The Chinese recipe
In a Chinese recipe, various individual herbs (of which there are about
(and there are about 5,000 of them known in China) are mixed together in precisely coordinated proportions. The recipe follows a hierarchical structure, so that there is always a medicine that is considered the emperor or the dominant or the most important and is supported by respective ministers in its effect. In addition, a recipe still consists of auxiliary and reporting drugs.
The composition of a Chinese formula is an individual event, tailored to the personal energetic state, i.e. the individual traditional Chinese diagnosis of the individual person.
The art of Chinese prescribing consists in modifying the classical recipes for the particular person and his Chinese diagnosis in such a way that exactly his symptoms can develop the optimal effect with his resources, his body defenses and his general condition.
The creation of a prescription requires a high level of expertise in both the individual medicines and the traditional Chinese prescription theory. Often a herbal formulation develops modes of action that cannot be attributed to a mere sum of the modes of action of the individual components of the formulation.
In a balanced Chinese recipe, the positive aspects of the individual medicines mutually reinforce each other in such a way as to produce optimal benefits for humans. Through a proper combination of herbs, inhibitory effects on others can also be exploited to minimize undesirable side effects in partial aspects.
Of absolute importance is the fact of keeping contact with the therapist while taking the Chinese medicines. The Chinese drug formulation was created for the condition of the person to be treated in the hicet nuno (i.e. in the here and now). If the symptoms change during the days of taking the medicine or new symptoms are added, this requires a new composition of the prescription. The herbal mixture must be supplemented or retuned.
In case of occurrence of a flu-like infection, which may correspond, for example, to a wind-heat or a wind-cold disease, the prescription should be discontinued. Otherwise, it may even lead to unpleasant aggravation.
Dosage forms of Chinese medicines
1. decoct (seaweed):
Decoction is considered the main form of application of Chinese medicines. The herbs are used in the original and boiled in a specific procedure. The long boiling medicine is added first and the shortest boiling medicine, such as the flowers, is added last to the boiling decoction.
2. granules (San):
A particular advantage of the granules or powder (San) is ease of use, especially for people who are exposed to frequent change of location. The practicality is simple: a small spoonful of granules is poured over hot water and drunk as “tea”.
3. other dosage forms:
Other forms of application are the pill “Wan” and the medicinal drink or drops.
Eight therapeutic procedures
The entire treasure trove of medicines was arranged in ancient China according to the doctor-therapeutic procedures. This represents a meaningful continuation of the well-known “Eight Guiding Criteria” (Bang), which play a major role in Chinese diagnostics. Processes such as cooling or heating, energetic supplementation or dissipation of energy, an action on the surface or obtaining perspiration and the like, are of importance here:
- 1. Sudatio (the recommendation of sweat)
- 2. Vomitio expectoratio - - the "therapeutic ejection"
- 3. Purgatio (purging)
- 4. Compositio (harmonization)
- 5. Tepefactio (the careful warming)
- 6. Refregeratio (the cooling)
- 7. Supletio (the energetic supplement)
- 8. Dispulsio (the discharge of energy)
Qualification of Chinese medicines
Chinese medicines are qualified according to 4 basic properties:
- 1. temperature behavior
- 2. main flavor
- 3. functional circuit reference
- 4. direction of action
1. The temperature behavior:
The temperature behavior of a Chinese medicine describes its warming or cooling properties and relates to its dynamics. The individual temperature qualities can be represented on an axis, which can be divided from very cold – over cold – over cool – over neutral – over warm – to over hot.
2. The taste
As a second characteristic, each Chinese medicine has a specific taste. This does not only mean the purely sensual experience of our oral intake, but with the tastes hot, sweet, sour, bitter and salty, clear references to the 5 phases of change can be represented:
- Conversion phase lung corresponds to metal corresponds to spicy flavor
- Conversion phase spleen corresponds to element earth corresponds to sweet flavo
- Conversion phase liver corresponds to element wood corresponds to sour flavor
- Conversion phase heart corresponds to element fire corresponds to bitter flavor
- Conversion phase kidney corresponds to element water corresponds to salty taste.
Also in our everyday life we perceive sharp as something that drives the sweat outward, unfolds active energy and opens us to the outside. The opening of the surface corresponds to the effect of the sharp in the functional area lungs.
Sweet foods, on the other hand, have a balancing and harmonizing effect; it is not for nothing that screaming little children are often fed sweets.
The sour pulls together. The contracting has a clear relation to the functional area of the liver, we know this from our everyday life: Who has ever “drunk the night away”, is happy about something sour in the morning, because the sour leads to a collection and strengthening in the area of the functional area of the liver.
Bitter has a drying effect, salty softens. The salty has the greatest effect on the inside, in contrast to the pungent, which has the greatest effect on the outside. Accordingly, all tastes can also be placed on an axis, in which case the direction of action is indicated from the inside to the outside.