Determine the authenticity of traditional Chinese medicine by soaking it in water

Water test identification method is a simple and traditional empirical identification method. Driven by profit, some drug dealers will do whatever it takes to adulterate or even counterfeit traditional Chinese medicines. Their methods are so sophisticated that it is impossible to tell the authenticity of the products with the naked eye. If you are not careful, you may end up buying fake and inferior medicines. In the absence of high-tech equipment and techniques, the water test method can expose some adulterated or counterfeit Chinese medicines.

The water test method is a fast, simple and effective method to identify the authenticity and quality of certain Chinese medicinal materials based on the special physical and chemical phenomena (such as sinking, floating, swelling, dissolving, penetrating, color, etc.) produced when they are in water or come into contact with water. Some Chinese medicinal materials are now observed through water test experiments, and the special changes that occur in these medicines after coming into contact with water are introduced as follows (the following are all changes in properties that occur in authentic products).

1. Safflower

(Dried flowers of safflower, a plant of the Asteraceae family): After soaking in water, the water turns golden yellow, but the flowers do not fade.

2. Sterculia lychnophora:

After soaking in hot water, the volume expands to dozens of times its original size and becomes floc-like.

3. Qinpi:

Soak in water and the extract will show a blue fluorescence under sunlight.

4. Bear Bile

When bear bile powder is put into a cup of clean water, it rotates on the surface and sinks in the form of a yellow line without spreading.

5. Bezoar:

Take a small amount and mix it with water, then apply it on the nails. It can dye the nails yellow and last for a long time without fading. It is commonly known as "hanging nails"; it tastes fragrant and cool when you put it in your mouth, bitter at first and then slightly sweet, and it does not stick to your teeth when you chew it, but dissolves slowly. Artificial bezoar does not give you a cool feeling when you take it in your mouth, but has a slightly fragrant and slightly fishy smell.

6. Angelica dahurica:

Take 0.5 g of powder, add 3 ml of water, shake and filter, take 2 drops of the filtrate and apply it on filter paper, it will show blue fluorescence under sunlight.

7. Bupleurum:

Take 0.25g of powder and put it into a test tube, add 5ml of distilled water, soak it in cold water for 20 minutes, filter it, and shake the filtrate vigorously for 5 minutes. If persistent foam is produced, this is used to check the saponin.

8. Gastrodia elata:

The ones that have a foul smell (horse urine smell) after steaming are the real ones, and the wild ones have a stronger smell than the domestic ones.

9. Ejiao and turtle glue:

Take a small amount of gelatinous medicinal materials and dissolve them in hot water. The solution is transparent, has a sweet fragrance, no precipitation, no peculiar smell, and no floating oil stars.

10. Chinese Yam and Poria cocos:

Many counterfeiters of this type of medicinal material use grain powder. After soaking in hot water, the grain powder will dissolve, but the genuine product will not dissolve.