Bitter pills may have welcome effects

For a long time, I have been drinking granulated Chinese herbal medicine whenever I feel a cold coming on.

It is called Ganmao Qingre Keli, which costs about $2 for 10 packets and can be obtained from every street drugstore that sells traditional Chinese medicine. It has a bitter and unpleasant taste that can make swallowing it when mixed with hot water even more difficult. But every urban Chinese person with early symptoms of a cold would probably take this medicine rather than Moutai or some other Chinese liquor, then hit the sack early.

Does it work? Well, we know TCM is not as fast as Western medicine in terms of effectiveness, but it is good for keeping the whole body healthy. People say the brown grains are most useful as a prevention. So I would assume I have taken them too late when my symptoms do not subside and I have to consult a doctor for Western medication.

And in false-alarm situations, we simply regard the medicine as a chicken soup that cannot hurt. In comparison, chemical drugs often make one feel drowsy or lose appetite and are much more expensive.

However, despite my ambiguous feelings about the tea, I have never doubted the efficacy of TCM treatments prepared in an ancient way.

For almost a decade, I have struggled with a seasonal allergy that recurs like clockwork every summer and could be triggered by pollen. At its worst, the condition causes a stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, fatigue and difficulty in breathing.

I did have one peaceful, healthy summer after I took decoctions that were elaborately cooked for hours in the pharmacy of a top TCM hospital in Beijing.

But I have found it difficult to stick to the medication every year, not just for the herbs' repelling odor and taste but also for the high daily dosages that lasted weeks. Plastic packets containing the liquid filled up one drawer in the refrigerator in my home and gulping it down on time was strongly advised for the restoration of inner physical balance.

Instead, I tried various TCM pills that appeared to have roughly the same herbal ingredients as the decoctions. But none have worked as well as the liquid. Unfortunately, some pharmaceutical properties of TCM can be lost when the herbs are transformed into grains, tablets, capsules or other formulas for contemporary consumers.

I have been prompted to reflect on my personal experience with TCM, after Chinese scientist Tu Youyou recently won a Nobel prize for a therapy that is extracted from a TCM herb known as sweet wormwood.

I hope her success, while opening up a bright future for a struggling tradition, will lead more pharmaceutical companies to develop highly efficacious TCM treatments, with sophisticated, modern scientific methods.

The author is editor-at-large of China Daily. Contact the writer at dr.baiping@chinadaily.com.cn