Why are some pills wrapped in gold foil?



The gold foil coating of pills also has a long historical origin. The method of making pills with a bright appearance and enhanced therapeutic effect, founded by Avicena (980-1037) of the Four European people in the Middle Ages, was introduced from Arabia to China. Some pills in the Song Dynasty's "He Ji Ju Fang" adopted this gold coating technique. For example, traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations, such as Zhibao Pill and Huaijiao Pill, all have records that gold foil is used as clothing. Chen Jiamo's "Herbal Enlightenment" in the Ming Dynasty said that when describing gold foil, "a child doctor must use it as clothing to make ingot pills".

 

 

 

Gold foil, which is highly developed in modern medicine, is still used as a prescription for medicine. For example, the famous traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations Tong Ren Tang's "Cheongsimhwan", "Niuhuang Qingxin Pill", etc., all use gold foil as a prescription or are wrapped with gold foil. In Chinese folk culture, gold foil is also used as a folk prescription for suppressing shock in children. It can be seen that gold foil as clothing not only enhances therapeutic effects, but also has the function of exterior decoration.

 

 

There are many records in history about the use of gold foil as medicine and its stable properties, which have led to the practice of wrapping pills with gold foil being passed down to this day. So, putting a "golden coat" on a pill is not just about looking good. Gold foil not only helps preserve its properties better, but also records its properties in ancient medical books. Do you know now?