Die klinische Bedeutung der Prozessierung chinesischer Arzneimittel (paozhi) für die Wirkweise von Arzneimittelrezepturen – Teil 2

The efficacy of a Chinese medicinal prescription is achieved through the interaction of the effects of its individual components. The processing of the Chinese herbs (paozhi) prescribed is an integral part of phytotherapy in Chinese Medicine and can modify or enhance the efficacy of the components. For this reason it is necessary to prescribe not only the individual components but also the processing required in each case as this is the only way to achieve the intended clinical results.

In this continuation of the article “The importance of the proper processing of Chinese medicinal prescriptions (paozhi) for their clinical efficacy”—Part 1 (Nögel 2022), three well-known ‘later prescriptions’ (shifang 世方) relevant for clinical use are analysed to reveal how their described efficacies and clinical indications can only be achieved through the careful and necessary processing of individual, or several, components. The article is based on a lecture delivered at the 6th SMS Congress held in Tutzing in September 2023.