Chinese herbal medicine drying process

Common Chinese medicinal materials drying methods:

The purpose of drying Chinese patent medicine is to remove water, inhibit the activity of active enzymes, prevent the decomposition of active ingredients, and facilitate long-term storage. During the processing of proprietary Chinese medicines, the appearance, odor and content of active ingredients of the crude drugs should be maintained as much as possible. According to the climate, equipment conditions, and medicinal material properties, the following three drying methods can be adopted:

1. Chinese patent medicine dried

Use sunlight and outdoor air to dry the herbs. The sun-drying method is generally applicable to medicinal materials that do not require a certain color and do not contain volatile oils, such as tincture, astragalus, burdock seeds, cassia seeds, and tannin, eucommia, etc. The sun-drying method is easy to operate, but the method for drying different medicinal materials is also different. The whole grass, leaf and flower medicinal materials are easily broken after sun exposure, and should be re-moisturized before being bundled; some medicinal materials with oily and sugary properties and flowers and leaf medicinal materials that are easy to fade and deteriorate should not be exposed to the sun to avoid causing sun Oil, sugar or discoloration can be dried.

2. Chinese medicine decoction pieces dry in the shade

The shade drying method is a method of placing fresh products in a well-ventilated place indoor or under a shed to allow water to evaporate and dry. Bright-colored leaves, flowers, grasses and medicinal materials containing aromatic and volatile substances will cause green leaves to turn yellow after drying, make the petals discolored and broken, the aroma will be lost, the effective ingredients will be volatilized, and the efficacy will be reduced. Dry in a cool, ventilated place. In order to make full use of space, you can nail the beams in the shed or indoor poles, or nail the beams on the vertical posts, spread the fresh products in the utensils, and layer them. Mint, spearmint, butterbur, rose, rose, safflower, coriander, etc.

3. Chinese herbal medicine drying

Use the dryer equipment to bake at low temperature to dry the medicinal materials. Chinese patent medicine should strictly control the temperature when drying. If the temperature is low, it will not be easy to dry. If the temperature is too high, it will affect the quality. For example, roasted rhubarb, the temperature must not exceed 60 ℃, and the temperature will be darker and the quality will decrease. When the wood is dried, the temperature should not be too high. For example, the temperature of the dried chrysanthemum should be controlled at 55 ~ 65 ℃.

The composition and structure of different kinds of medicinal materials are very different, and the dehydration process is very different. Proper temperature control is one aspect, and it is more important to control humidity, because temperature determines the rate of evaporation of water on the surface of the medicinal material, but humidity determines the rate of water migration from the inside of the medicinal material to the surface of the medicinal material, and determines the migration of water from the surface of the medicinal material to the air. Speed also has a great influence on the color and shape of medicinal materials. If you do not control the humidity changes during the baking process, the deformation of the medicinal materials will also be very different.

Drying process researched in-depth:

The drying and drying of Chinese medicinal materials is the first step in the processing of Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese medicinal materials, which determines the quality of Chinese medicinal materials. Traditional Chinese medicinal materials have a long-term advantage in treating difficult and chronic diseases due to their natural and small toxic and side effects, and have gradually entered the world.

After the harvest of Chinese herbal medicines and Chinese medicinal materials, except for a few species that are available for fresh medicinal use, most of them need to be dried for storage. "Every medicine should be stored with caution. The decay of mold ca n’t help but reflect that drying and drying are the most common and critical processing steps for Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese medicinal materials after harvesting. The drying process is an important link that affects the quality and economic value of Chinese medicinal materials. The drying effect directly affects Product use, quality and appearance.

In order to ensure the quality of Chinese medicinal materials, when drying and drying Chinese herbal medicines and Chinese medicinal materials, a scientific and rigorous attitude must be used to study the deterioration of the efficacy and its causes in detail, so that different drying methods and drying conditions are selected for different medicinal materials. Beijing Huazhen's sulfur-free drying technology controls the sulfur dioxide residue from the processing source and can add sulfur-free ingredients. Sulfur-free drying technology is divided into two parts: one is the research and development of material properties, by analyzing the structural characteristics and physical and chemical characteristics of the material, and matching the process parameters to achieve the purpose of color protection and quality; the second is the application of balanced dehydration technology by adjusting drying conditions (Temperature, humidity, speed, etc.) The water diffusion speed during the heat and mass transfer process of the hot air flow and the surface of the material is equal to the water migration speed during the heat and mass transfer process inside the material. In order to obtain market demand and widely welcomed fine Chinese medicine.