Ivor W. Hartmann: Home Herbal Preparations: Decoctions

15 May 2008

Home Herbal Preparations: Decoctions

While Infusions are generally for soft or fresh plants that easily render their compounds to its gentle process. When dealing with tough or woody plants, roots, stems and seeds it is generally necessary to take the next step up in extraction preparation and that is Decoctions. Although like Infusions and water Macerations the governing factor is whether or not the chemical compounds contained within the herb are water soluble or not. For the most part water is considered a Universal Solvent for its inherent ability to absorb a plethora of chemical compounds. This is also the reason why when using water for any of these preparations it is preferable to use water that is as clean as possible, if not distilled. Just like I recommended using organic herbs, tainted water can also be deleterious to the desired action of the herbal preparation for the same reasons.

One of the most important elements of the decoction process is the pan or pot you use, treated glass is the best but if you have to then use stainless steel or enamel coated, but try not to use cast iron, copper or aluminium. Firstly you need to prepare the herb unless it is in powder form, this can be accomplished by bruising, crushing or mashing the roots, stems, seeds. Because decoction has been chosen for these herbs they will be hard and fibrous or tough, but by mashing etc. the ingredients you will provide a greater surface area access for the water to work on and penetrate more cellular walls that contain the chemical compounds. This is also why many herbalists prefer using powders for their small particle size that ensures maximum release within the process. However this also does make the result far stronger relative to amount used and so generally 1 dose equals 1 teaspoon of powder or 2 teaspoons mashed per cup of cold water pored into the pot. The average dose per day is three times so if you want to make a day’s batch, then add two more doses to the pot. It is not recommended to keep the doses longer than One Day, and if possible to prepare each dose individually to prevent and degradation of the liquid through oxidation and environment contamination. If you have, to then store the day’s batch in the fridge in a tightly sealed container.

Once you have placed all the ingredients into your pot place it on the heat at about medium high and put on the pot lid. It is essential that the pot has a heavy tight fitting lid to try and prevent the loss of any volatile (essential) oils as much as possible. If you can smell the herb or see steam during the process then you are losing a good deal of these oils and generally rendering the process ineffective for the most part. When the mixture comes to a boil reduce heat to achieve allow but consistent simmering and simmer for 20 minutes. If you require a strong specified decoction then you can either let the pot sit for 24 hours after simmering or simmer for 2 hours. After the simmer if you used a powder let the pot sit until the powder has collected on the bottom of the pot as sediment, then strain through a fine strainer for use. If you used mashed herbs then strain and make sure to press all the liquid you can out of the remaining pulp. Like Infusion it is best to consume the decoction as soon as you can after the process to gain the full fresh benefit from the decoction, also make sure to cover your drinking cup in between sips to further retard the escape of volatile oils and oxidation of the liquid. If you made a batch make sure the rest is sealed and in the fridge or at least a dark cool place for later use. For children you might want to try sweetening the decoction with syrup or honey as for the most part decoctions can be very acrid in flavour. Though interestingly once when I was very sick with gastric flue at the peak of the illness the Golden Seal (Hydrastis Canadensis) I was taking tasted sweet, which if you have ever consumed it you will know is normally an incredibly acrid tasting herb.

There are obviously too many herbs to mention that benefit from the decoction process but here are a five of the better known western ones.