A liquid prepared by boiling and extracting the essence from herbs, plants, or other materials; a concentrated liquid extract.
From Latin decoctio, the noun form of decocere 'to boil down.' Used in medicine and pharmacy since medieval times.
Decoctions are everywhere in non-Western medicine—Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and African herbalism all rely on decoctions. They're not primitive; they're sophisticated extraction chemistry done with heat instead of synthetic solvents.
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