Home › Preparations › To Prepare Decoctions

To Prepare Decoctions

Decoctions are solutions of the properties of vegetables obtained by boiling, which is presumed to be a more effective method of extracting are solutions of vegetable and animal drugs, their properties than mere infusion.

For making decoctions, the substances should be well bruised, or reduced to a very coarse powder, or, if fresh and soft, they should be sliced small. In the former case, any very fine powder or adhering dust should be removed with a sieve, as its presence would tend to make the product thick and disagreeable, and also more troublesome to strain. The vessel in which the boiling is conducted should be furnished with an accurately fitting cover, the better to exclude the air, and the heat should be so regulated that the fluid may be kept "simmering," or only gently boiling, as violent boiling is not only quite unnecessary, but absolutely injurious.

In every case the liquor should be strained while hot, but not boiling, and the best method of doing this is to employ a fine hair sieve, or a coarse flannel bag. In general it is found, that as decoctions cool, a sediment is formed, in consequence of the boiling water dissolving a larger portion of vegetable matter than it can retain in solution when cold. This deposit for the most part consists of the