Few pharmacies nowadays sell Chinese medicines in their original unprocessed form. Instead, a variety of pills, powders and granules are available. These are Chinese patent medicines.
What is Chinese patent medicine?
Chinese patent medicine (zhong cheng yao 
) is a medicinal preparation using natural medicinal materials as the ingredients. Based on the theories of TCM, zhong cheng yao is produced through processing, with an indication of the medicinal function, adaptive symptoms, dosage and method of consumption. It is the finished TCM product for a TCM compound prescription.
Why is patent medicine so popular?
1.Safe to use: the Chinese medicinal materials used in the making of patent medicines are mostly natural extracts which have very few harmful side effects.
2.Simple to use: patent medicines can be easily used at any time. For instance, pills, powders and granules do not require lengthy decoction procedures, nor do they have the strong and often nauseating medicinal odour of many decoctions.
3.Convenient: patent medicines are easy to store and highly portable.
What are the disadvantages of patent medicine?
The combination and dosage used in the preparation of patent medicines is fixed and cannot be adjusted to suit different illnesses.
