Chinese herbal medicines, 中药, include substances of plant, mineral and animal origin, with plant-based substances making up the vast majority.
Chinese herbal medicines are not considered Chinese simply because they can only be found in China. Of the approximately 13,000 known and documented substances, some were imported into China, and many of the herbs also grow in our part of the world. A Chinese herbal medicine is considered Chinese because it is classified according to very specific properties. These include its taste, temperature and affinity for particular channels.
Based on these properties, the medicines are assigned specific functions according to the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The approximately 400 most frequently used Chinese herbal medicines are, in most cases, prescribed as complex multi-component formulas. The individual medicines are carefully combined with one another to create a balanced prescription and adapt it to the individual circumstances of the patient’s condition.
Traditionally, herbs were prepared as decoctions, meaning freshly brewed tea prepared each day. Tonics were also traditionally preserved in alcohol or processed with honey into pills. In Switzerland, decoctions as well as modern forms of administration are predominantly used today: granulated extracts, tablets, and water- or alcohol-based extracts.
Around 13,000 substances have been documented for medicinal use in Asia. In addition to plant-based substances, TCM also recognizes around 1,000 substances of animal origin and 100 mineral substances. In everyday clinical practice, however, treatment generally involves around 150–250 individual medicines.
Companies that sell Chinese herbal medicines in Switzerland test them according to strict criteria for purity and identity. Some substances that are traditionally used but are considered ethically unacceptable are not sold.
This also applies to substances listed under species-protection regulations, unless they are sold in cultivated form with the appropriate trade certificates (CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
At the practice, Chinese herbal medicine is most often combined with acupuncture.