What are the types of medical herbal therapeutic preparations?

Currently, the medical herbal therapy preparations approved for clinical use in China are mainly divided into two categories: classic dosage forms inherited from the traditional medicine system, and improved preparations developed with modern pharmaceutical technology. The applicable scenarios, advantages and disadvantages of the two types are different, and the clinical use will be flexibly selected according to the needs of the patient.

People who often go to traditional Chinese medicine hospitals are definitely familiar with the fragrant decoctions, which are the most representative traditional herbal preparations. In addition, external ointments, internal pills, powders, and elixirs also fall into this category. Last year, my mother suffered from rheumatoid joint swelling and pain. The doctor of traditional Chinese medicine prescribed the hospital-made golden ointment. Apply it once a day, and most of the swelling and pain disappeared in less than a week. The biggest advantage of this traditional preparation is that it can flexibly adjust the compatibility. For example, people with the same cold, wind-cold constitution and internal heat constitution may receive completely different prescription ratios. However, controversy over traditional preparations has always existed in the industry. Some people believe that there is no unified standard for the boiling and preparation process of traditional preparations, and the dissolution rate of active ingredients is unstable. Some practitioners insist that this kind of personalized adjustment is the core advantage of herbal therapy and is more suitable for patients with chronic diseases who require long-term conditioning.

With the iteration of pharmaceutical technology in recent years, many modern herbal preparations that are more suitable for fast-paced medical needs have gradually become mainstream clinical choices. Nowadays, many hospitals have non-cooking herbal granules. The medicinal materials are purified in advance and made into granules. You can take it home and drink it with warm water. I had acute pharyngitis last month, and the doctor prescribed non-cooking granules of Rubesia rubescens and Platycodon grandiflorum. It doesn’t take up much space to carry in my bag when I go on a business trip. It is much more convenient than boiling decoction. The commonly consumed compound berberine tablets, Huoxiang Zhengqi soft capsules, as well as topical herbal patches, herbal extracts for atomization, and even compliant herbal injections are all improved modern herbal preparations. The ingredients and content of such preparations have clear quantitative standards, and adverse reactions are more controllable. However, many patients have reported that the purified preparations are not as effective as the original decoctions made by themselves. There is currently no unified clinical research conclusion.

To use an analogy, traditional herbal preparations are like tailor-made clothes by an old tailor. They fit well but take a long time to complete, and the preparation standards are relatively flexible. Modern preparations are like mass-produced clothing by brands, with stable quality, ready to wear, and adaptable to the general needs of most people. By the way, what we are talking about here are all medical preparations approved by the National Food and Drug Administration. Many Sanwu products on the market that promote "herbal miraculous effects" are not included. When you use them, you must look for the batch number of a regular medical institution or a national drug approval, and don't mess with products of unknown origin.