Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a variety of dosage forms. Besides the well-known decoctions that many of us prepare at home, other common traditional forms include pastes, pills, powders, and modern forms such as capsules and granules.
Pills are made by grinding TCM herbs into fine powder or extracts, adding suitable binders, and forming them into spherical solid dosage forms. Pills are traditionally categorized into large honey pills and water pills, representing one of the traditional forms of TCM. Compared to decoctions, pills have the characteristics of slower absorption, prolonged efficacy, saving of medicinal materials, and convenience for consumption and transport. Therefore, they are often used for chronic diseases, weakness from prolonged illness, and for harmonizing Qi and blood after illness, such as Liù Wèi Dì Huāng Wán (Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill), Wū Jī Bái Fèng Wán (Black-Bone White Phoenix Pill), Xiāo Yáo Wán (Free and Easy Wanderer Pill).
In pharmacies, pills are also categorized into various types, such as water pills, honey pills, and drop pills.
So, what should one consider when choosing? How can one select a dosage form that best suits their needs?
Let’s take a look at
Water Pills
Water Pills, commonly known as water-dissolved pills, are made by grinding TCM herbs into fine powder and using water (cold boiled water or distilled water) or other agents such as wine, vinegar, honey water, or medicinal juices as excipients. The characteristics of water pills include small size, smooth and dense surface, and resistance to moisture. Water pills disintegrate, dissolve, absorb, and exert their effects relatively quickly, making them easy to swallow,and suitable for various diseases. Common examples include Liù Wèi Dì Huāng Wán (Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill) and Xiāng Shā Yǎng Wèi Wán (Aromatic Sand Stomach Nourishing Pill).Honey Pills
Honey Pills are made by grinding one or more TCM herbs into fine powder and using refined honey as a binder. They are further divided into large honey pills and small honey pills. Honey pills are characterized by their gentle and moist nature, providing a mild and lasting effect, while also having tonifying and flavor-correcting properties. They are often used to treat chronic diseases and conditions of weakness.Common examples include Wū Jī Bái Fèng Wán (Black-Bone White Phoenix Pill) and Bā Zhēn Yì Mǔ Wán (Eight-Treasure Beneficial Mother Pill). Concentrated Pills
Concentrated pills are made by concentrating the decoction or extract of all or part of the medicinal materials with suitable excipients such as honey or dextrin, and then mixing with fine powders of other herbs to form pills. Due to their small size and high concentration of active ingredients, they dissolve and absorb slowly in the body,making them suitable for treating various diseases..
Examples include Liù Wèi Dì Huāng Wán (Concentrated Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill) and Dāng Guī Concentrated Pill.
Paste Pills
Paste Pills are made by grinding TCM herbs into fine powder and using rice paste, flour paste, or other pastes as excipients to form small pills. Paste pills have strong adhesion, uniform size, and consistent color. Their hard texture allows for slower disintegration and dissolution, prolonging the medicinal effect when taken orally. They are generally used in formulations containing toxic herbs such as Strychnos (Mǎ Qiān Zǐ) and Pinellia (Shēng Bàn Xià) to reduce the adverse reactions and gastrointestinal irritation of toxic substances.Drop Pills
Drop Pills are made by heating and melting the raw medicinal materials with suitable matrices, then dropping them into a non-miscible and non-reactive cooling medium to form spherical or quasi-spherical preparations. The characteristics of drop pills include high bioavailability, accurate dosage, rapid dissolution, and quick action,making them suitable for emergency treatment, and they can also be made into sustained-release or controlled-release formulations. Common examples include Huò Xiāng Zhèng Qì Dī Wán (Agastache Correcting Qi Drop Pills) and Fù Fāng Dān Shēn Dī Wán (Compound Salvia Drop Pills).
Precautions for Taking Pills
1. Pillsshould be taken with a small amount of warm boiled water. Depending on the treatment purpose and symptoms, appropriate liquids can also be used for consumption, such as using light salt water for kidney tonification, ginger or jujube decoction for warming the stomach, and brown sugar water for warming the uterus and regulating menstruation. 2. When takingChinese patent medicine pills and Western medicine together, regardless of which is taken first, it is best to space themat least half an hour apart.3. Large honey pills should not be swallowed whole due to their size; they should be chewed or divided into smaller pieces before being taken with warm boiled water. Smaller children and those with swallowing difficulties should avoid honey pills to prevent accidental aspiration into the respiratory tract, which can be dangerous. Diabetics should use honey pills with caution. Some emergency pills can be taken sublingually. For more health information, please follow our company’s official account, or call our service hotline at 0755-89551010, or visit our stores to consult with licensed pharmacists and other professionals.
