How to store dried Chinese medicine

Drinking Chinese medicine can treat many related chronic diseases and can also effectively improve sub-health problems. Many people will boil the Chinese medicine at one time and then drink it according to the dosage, but how to preserve dry Chinese medicine? In fact, the boiled Chinese medicine can be stored in the refrigerator and there will be no effect if it is consumed within three days. Dried Chinese medicine can be preserved for a longer time and can be kept for several years in a ventilated place without any problems.

Preservation methods of Chinese herbal medicines

If you don’t pay attention to the preservation method of Chinese medicinal materials, it is easy for the original efficacy of the Chinese medicine to be reduced or even moldy. Therefore, Chinese medicinal materials that cannot be taken in a short period of time must be carefully preserved. Let’s take a look at the preservation methods of Chinese medicinal materials.

1. 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. We can use methods such as sun drying, air drying, baking, microwave, far infrared irradiation, etc. to reduce the water content to below 15%.

At present, the most common method to reduce the water content of Chinese medicinal materials is to spread the medicinal 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 and then dried 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.

It is worth noting that the medicinal materials must be fully spread out before drying to ensure that they dry evenly and avoid excessive moisture content in some areas causing mildew. At the same time, in order to maintain the purity of the medicinal materials, the drying room should be clean and ventilated, and the drying equipment should be clean and pollution-free.

2. Reasonable storage

When storing Chinese medicinal materials, pay attention to the following six points:

1. Low temperature

Mold and pests are not easy to grow below 10℃, and deterioration reactions of medicinal materials such as oiliness, melting, adhesion, 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 rats; 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 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.

How to preserve Chinese medicinal materials? The above introduces the preservation methods of Chinese medicinal materials. When preserving Chinese medicinal materials, you should pay attention to keeping them dry, away from light, and sealed at low temperature. Never place them at random.