It is a primary concern of herbal medicine to select the proper form of preparation. Is a select herb best as infusion, decoction, or some other preparation for the use at hand? Should it be extracted for a certain amount of time (the general options are: infusion, long infusion, short decoction, decoction, long decoction, and cold infusion)? The time in and temperature of the water can effect the medicinal properties of the herbs.
If one makes an herbal preparation at home and repeatedly infuses or decocts the same plant material the properties of the medicine would more-or-less change over the course, extracting subtler qualities at first and including minerals and heavier constituents nearing the end.
If one makes an herbal preparation at home and repeatedly infuses or decocts the same plant material the properties of the medicine would more-or-less change over the course, extracting subtler qualities at first and including minerals and heavier constituents nearing the end.
