Herbal roots, berries, and barks need to be made into
decoctions to extract the active ingredients. The usual
Western dose is 1 Oz/25g of dried root to l 1/2pt/
750ml of water, simmered in a stainless-steel or
enamel saucepan until-the volume has reduced by
about one-third, then strained. Stare in a
pitcher in a cool place and use in
three wine-glass doses during the day,
reheating it if preferred. Decoctions
may be flavored with a little honey.
Traditionaly ayurvedic remedies are taken as fresh juices, pastes, or purees, generally mixed with ghee or oil; as decoctions; as hot and cold infusions; or as macerations. The traditional proportion for decoctions is one part herb to 16 parts water, which is then simmered until the volume has reduced to one-quarter of the original This process takes several hours to complete. Hot infusions use the proportion of one part herb to eight parts boiling water, with the infusion being left for up to 12 hours, rather than the 10-15 minutes that are generally allowed in the West. Some ayurvedic practitioners In the West recommend increasing the dosage and cutting the simmering or infusion time to Western proportions in order to make the preparation more compatible with Western lifestyles. Decoctions can be simmered until three-quarters of the water is left and dosages doubled or trebled, with a similar increase in dosages for a minimum hot-infusion time of 30 minutes. Milk decoctions are made ...
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