Never use stainless steel pot to decoct traditional Chinese medicine. Because traditional Chinese medicine contains a variety of alkaloids, organic bases and other components, it is easy to react with stainless steel to invalidate the medicine and even produce some more toxic compounds.

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine decoction is closely related to the selected decocting instruments. It is better to use casserole now, because the material of casserole is relatively stable, it will not react chemically with pharmaceutical ingredients, and the heat transfer is even and mild, which is one of the reasons why it has been used since ancient times. In addition, enamel pot, stainless steel pot and glass frying pan can also be selected. However, iron pots and copper pots cannot be used, mainly because of their unstable chemical properties and easy oxidation. When decocting, it can react with the chemical components contained in traditional Chinese medicine. For example, it can form ferric tannic acid with tannic acid to deepen the color of the liquid medicine. It can form insoluble polymers with flavonoids. It can form salts with organic acids. All these will affect the quality of decoction and directly affect the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine decoction.