Medical term for a liquid preparation made by boiling or steeping herbs or other substances. Used in traditional medicine and pharmacy.
In Kampo medicine, crude drugs are boiled to make a decoction.
Please take this decoction three times a day before meals.
Compound of 煎 (sen, 'to boil, decoct') and 薬 (yaku, 'medicine'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of a medicinal decoction.