There are a lot of Chinese patent medicines at home, do they have an expiration date?

It is best to eat Chinese herbal medicines as soon as possible, once the quality of medicinal materials declines, the efficacy of the medicine is reduced, sometimes not only can not play a role in health preservation, but also affect the health of the body. For some ore-based drugs, such as gypsum. Magnets, talc, green limestone, gall alum, etc., because their molecular structure is relatively stable, can be placed for a long time, can be placed for more than ten years or longer.

For example, my common star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, ginger, etc., can be used both medicinally and edible. When used medicinally, it belongs to Chinese medicinal materials, and when eaten, it belongs to the ingredients, that is, agricultural and sideline products. Some traditional Chinese medicines should be deliberately left for a longer period of time to improve their effectiveness and value.

Some proprietary Chinese medicines have an expiration date and can only be used within the expiration date. For example, tangerine peel, the longer it is placed, the better the medicinal effect and the more valuable it is. Most Chinese herbal medicines will not lose their efficacy if stored in an ideal environment.

<>Although the shelf life of Chinese herbal medicines is relatively long, it is difficult to determine the real production date, and it is impossible to identify it with a label, and the expiration of medicinal materials may also produce poison, so it is better to be cautious. Medicinal materials containing volatile, oil, and sugar components should not be stored for a long time. The composition of some medicinal materials is not very stable, and long-term storage will cause the volatilization and loss of active ingredients, oxidative decomposition.

From scientific research experiments to marketing, the scope and requirements of drugs have been determined after a large number of data and case demonstrations. The problems brought by expired medicines, their uncertain changes, are also uncertain.

Chinese patent medicine refers to the use of Chinese herbal medicines as raw materials, under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory, in accordance with the prescribed prescription, production process and quality standards to make a certain dosage form, can be directly supplied to people for disease prevention and treatment. The expiration date of the drug refers to the approved use period of the drug, which indicates the period during which the quality of the drug can be guaranteed under the specified storage conditions. It is one of the indicators to control the quality of medicines.

If you look closely at the instructions of the medicines, you will find that both Western medicines and Chinese patent medicines will have an expiration date. Therefore, the majority of patients are reminded to read the drug instructions carefully before taking the drug to see whether the drug is within the expiration date, and do not take it if the expiration date has passed. Proprietary Chinese medicines have an expiration date.

Before the marketing of proprietary Chinese medicines, a stability test will be conducted, that is, a long-term accelerated experiment and an expected accelerated experiment to determine the expiration date of the drug. There is a big difference between Chinese patent medicines, which is quite related to the manufacturer's technology, ingredients, and production process, and cannot be all about how long the shelf life and expiration date are.

Some. Everything has an expiration date, it should be used within the expiration date, and after the expiration date, it should be thrown away, which is harmful to the body.

Of course, there is an expiration date, so it's better to eat it early, don't leave it too long, otherwise it will be wasted.

I think that Chinese medicine has a shelf life, everything has its shelf life, but the length of time is different, and the accumulation of Chinese medicine at home for too long will make the Chinese medicine unable to achieve its original medicinal properties.

Proprietary Chinese medicines also have an expiration date. Some Chinese herbal medicines will deteriorate after a long time, so Chinese patent medicines also have a strict shelf life, beyond the shelf life, the efficacy will drop a lot or even disappear completely.

Yes. Keep Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng and ejiao at home for a long time, and think that the longer you leave them, the better the tonic effect. In fact, this practice is wrong, once most of the herbs have passed the expiration date, not only the effect is greatly reduced, but also whether they can be used or not is a problem.

For herbal medicines like ginseng, the longer it grows in the ground, the better it may be. However, once it is dug up and made into decoction pieces, the medicinal effect will decrease with the passage of time, and the shelf life is generally not more than 2 years. For example, if ginseng is stored for more than 1 year, 20%-30% of the active ingredients will be lost; If rhubarb is stored for more than 5 years, almost all of its medicinal effects will be lost.

The same thing happened with woody drugs. Angelica, wolfberry, etc. contain a lot of fatty oil, mucous sugar, although it is not easy to be eaten by insects, but it is easy to "go oily" for a long time, and oil-like substances will appear on the surface. Herbs containing volatile components such as peppermint, herbs, and perilla can be stored for too long and the aroma will affect the quality, thereby reducing the efficacy.

As for the molecular formula of mineral drugs such as keel and saltpeter, it is not a big problem to put it for a long time. In general, the storage period should not exceed 10 years.

Although there is no shelf life requirement for Chinese herbal medicines, it does not mean that Chinese herbal medicines can be stored indefinitely. Some citizens think that the older Chinese herbal medicines are, the better, and even blindly collect them, which is a misunderstanding. Chinese herbal medicines can only be truly shelf-stable within their shelf life and with appropriate preservation methods.

Once the quality of Chinese herbal medicine declines, the efficacy decreases, and it cannot play the role of curing diseases and saving people, so it is naturally impossible to "maintain and increase its value", and the collection is worthless. Only through appropriate and reasonable preservation methods can Chinese herbal medicines be preserved.

Most common Chinese herbal medicines should be stored in a cool, ventilated and dry place. High-grade Chinese medicinal materials such as cordyceps sinensis and ginseng can be stored in the refrigerator in an environment of minus 5 degrees. However, there are also some Chinese herbal medicines that do get better the older they get, such as tangerine peel and other Chinese herbal medicines, which generally need to be stored for more than 5 years, and the medicinal effect is better.

Most Chinese herbal medicines are best consumed as soon as possible, once the quality of the herbs declines, the efficacy is reduced, sometimes not only does not play a role in health preservation, but also affects the health of the body. Don't be a "medicine hoarder", how much Chinese herbal medicine is best to use and how much to match.