Paesatkama - Art of Traditional Thai drug compounding
Herbal practitioners mixed more than two crude drugs together according to the formulations. They need a deep understanding of the principle of traditional Thai pharmacy in order to properly use the herbal drugs, fresh or dried form, young or aged, the appropriate amount and the compounding methods.
Some ingredients may need to be detoxified before their uses, such as:
"Prasa" is the process to detoxify purging croton seeds, Malayan spurge tree latex and civet exudate.
"Satu" is the purification method using intense heat and used for borax etc.
The crude drugs must be cleaned with proper procedure, washing with water or winnowing the dried drugs from contaminants. Next step is thoroughly dried in the sun or oven at 45-60°C, cut into pieces or pulverized, and stored in a dried and clean container to protect from moisture.
Compounding methods
Oral medicines
Decoction Place small pieces of fresh or dried herbs in a pot, add water enough to cover them and boil for 10-30 minutes. Some recipes are indicated to simmer until the volume of water is reduced from three part to one. The herbs containing volatile oil such as ginger and cloves, need to boil with low heat in a closed container. After boiling, decant to get the clear supernatant and drink lukewarm. Clay, enameled or stainless steel pots are preferable.
Infusion The method entails the addition of 10 parts of boiling water onto 1 part of dried ingredients contained in small cup or glass with a lid. The mixture is set aside to brew 15-20 minutes, after which the clear supernatant is decanted. Some recipes, like Ya hom, the whole mixture are taken as medicine.
Herbal liquor Dried herbs are loosely wrapped in a piece of muslin and then placed into a glass jar with a tightly fitted lid. Sufficient quantity of spirit (28-40 degree proof) is then added to just cover the ingredients. With daily stirring, the maceration process is usually allowed to proceed of a period of 1-6 weeks or depending on the recipe. The patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, and those with alcohol allergies are not recommended.
Herbal Tablets Mix powdered ingredients with small amount of boiled water and knead the mixture into a thick paste, then press flat into about one centimeter thick, continuous press a brass tablet mold 3-5 times on the paste sheet, punch the tablets from the mold and dry them completely under the sun or in the oven. Store the tablets in a clean, closed container.
Pills Dried and finely powdered ingredients are mixed with a small amount of honey or syrup as a binder, then knead into thick paste. The thick paste is rolled into round strips, may be cut and shaped into small round balls by hand or use a pill press machine. The finished pills are then sun dried and stored in closed container. If still unused, two weeks later, dried again to prevent mold formation.
Medicines for External use
Poultice Thoroughly crush fresh herbs in a mortar into thick paste. If the mixture is too dry, add some water or alcohol. Applied the thick paste directly to the affected area or cover with thin cloth. Small amounts of water may be added to keep the paste moist. Change the poultice three times a day.
Herbal compress ball Prepare the ingredients like a poultice, then wrap with cotton into ball shaped and put on the steamer. Compress the hot herbal ball to painful area.
Massage Oil Chop fresh herbs evenly into thin pieces or grind dried herbs into coarse powder, fry with vegetable oil in a pan using low heat. After exhausted, filter and store in an air-tight glass container. Another method is macerated with oil in bottle and place in the sunshade for 3-4 weeks.