How to preserve good traditional Chinese medicine

Nowadays, many people who hope to improve their physical condition or treat certain diseases will choose traditional Chinese medicine treatment. After TCM treatment, you often need to take Chinese medicine. For good Chinese medicine, it is necessary to preserve it according to certain methods, otherwise it will greatly affect the medicinal properties and quality of the medicine. So, how do we preserve good Chinese medicine? The following will introduce relevant knowledge to you!

1. Low temperature

Mold and pests are not easy to grow below 10℃, and deterioration reactions of medicinal materials such as oiliness, melting, sticking, odor loss, and rotting are not easy to occur at low temperatures. Therefore, placing medicinal materials in a cool and dry place (such as a refrigerator) is conducive to preserving their effective ingredients.

2. Avoid light

Medicinal materials such as flowers and leaves that are easily changed when exposed to light should be stored in dark places and in ceramic containers or colored glass bottles to avoid direct sunlight.

3. Classification

Medicinal materials should be classified and stored according to their characteristics. For example, fleshy, sweet and fragrant medicinal materials such as hedgehog skin and melon wilt are prone to insects and should be placed in a fumigation warehouse; Polygala tenuifolia and Pinellia ternata are prone to mildew and should be ventilated and exposed to the sun. In addition, highly toxic medicinal materials should be labeled prominently and kept by designated personnel to prevent poisoning due to misuse.

4. Sealing

Seed-based medicinal materials (white lentil, malt, coix seed, etc.) can be stored in a sealed container to prevent them from being bitten by mice; medicinal materials that are easily weathered (such as Glauber's salt) and volatilized (such as borneol) can be stored in a sealed container to avoid the loss of effective ingredients. When sealing, place the medicine in a clean glass bottle, cover the bottle cap tightly, and drip wax in circles on the bottle mouth to seal it tightly. In addition, ceramic jars and vacuum bags are also good sealed containers.

5. Collect

Storing Sichuan pepper together with fishy-smelling animal medicinal materials (deer antler, earthworm, etc.) can prevent the animal medicinal materials from being infested by insects and deteriorating; putting Alisma orientalis and Cortex Moutan together can prevent Alisma orientalis from being infested by insects and Cortex Moutan from deteriorating.

6. Insecticide

Animal medicines such as mulberry silkworm cocoons and beehives must be steamed before storage to prevent the hatching of insect eggs. At the same time, chemical drugs can be used to fumigate pests. Usually, when preserving a small amount of medicinal materials, sulfur can be ignited to generate sulfur dioxide for fumigation. When preserving a large amount of medicinal materials, chloropicrin can be sprayed for fumigation.

7. Drying

When the moisture content of Chinese medicinal materials exceeds 15%, they are prone to deterioration due to insect pests, mildew, etc. Therefore, for medicinal materials with high water content, we need to use the power of high temperature, sun, wind, lime desiccant, etc. Use methods such as sun drying, air drying, baking, microwave, and far-infrared irradiation to reduce the moisture content to below 15%.

at present. The most common method to reduce the water content of Chinese medicinal materials is to spread the materials on a mat and place them in the sun. If conditions permit, you can use a rack to lift the straw mat. For some medicinal materials that contain more water or starch, such as Fritillaria, lily, and Corydalis, they should be boiled or steamed in boiling water first. Then dry in the sun. Some medicinal materials cannot withstand long-term exposure to the sun, such as ephedra. The content of active ingredients will decrease after long-term exposure to the sun. They should be placed in a ventilated room or under a shaded shed to dry. In addition, some high-priced medicinal materials, such as ginseng and tiger bones, are prone to insects and mold. They should be stored in a sealed container and kept dry with lime.