(Zhang Shiliang)
One, the purpose and task of origin processing
Ancient medicines are fresh, with the progress of traditional Chinese medicine science and the development of society, by collecting fresh for medicinal use is not adaptable to the needs of people began to sun-drying the fresh for storage. Sun-drying is the earliest method of processing herbs. After thousands of years of practice, summarize and improve the clinical observation of traditional Chinese medicine, so that the processing technology of herbs continue to innovate, improve and perfect. Today, the processing technology of medicinal herbs is still constantly innovating, improving, and increasingly to the direction of scientific and modern development.
Medicinal herbs from the harvest to the patient to take before the middle of a number of different treatments, these treatments are usually referred to as a general "processing", or "processing and preparation". In fact, processing and concocting are different concepts, their purpose, tasks, measures, time and place are quite different. Where in the origin of the preliminary treatment and drying of herbs, known as "processing", also known as "origin of processing", "processing of raw drugs". The reprocessing of herbs by pharmacies, drugstores, pharmaceutical factories or patients is called "processing". Origin processing is the process of drying fresh herbs to make them into medicinal herbs (or raw herbs). Concocting is the process of slicing, stir-frying, and roasting herbs to make them into "tablets" for direct consumption by the patient.
The purpose of processing herbs is to improve the efficacy and content of active ingredients, to ensure the quality of the herbs, to achieve the purpose of medical use of medicines, and to facilitate packaging, storage and transportation. The overall task is to remove the rough and fine, to remove the false and keep the true, to ensure the quality, in order to improve the efficacy of the medicinal herbs. Specific tasks are: first, clear non-medicinal parts, impurities, sediment, etc., in order to ensure the purity of the herbs; second, according to the standards set out in the Pharmacopoeia, processed and repaired into a qualified medicinal herbs; third, according to the medical requirements of the treatment, subtracting the toxicity of the herbs and undesirable flavors, in order to ensure that the utility of the herbs and safe use of medicines; fourth, drying, packaging into pieces, in order to facilitate the storage and transportation.
Second, the processing of factors affecting the quality of herbs
The quality of herbs, including its active ingredients and their content, flavor, water content, appearance and morphological characteristics, purity, specifications, grade and so on. Appearance of morphological features mainly refers to the color, size, shape, cross-section, etc.. The quality of herbs is not only affected by plant species, cultivars, cultivation methods and natural factors, but also by the maturity of herbs, temperature, water, chemical composition, auxiliary materials, processing technology and equipment during processing.
(A) the maturity of the herbs
Unmatured herbs processed and dried, the appearance of shriveled, wrinkled, or color, odor are not up to the required standards. And the active ingredient content is low, the processing fold dry rate is very low, the processing cost is also high. Over-matured herbs after processing and drying, the texture of withered old, dark color, or to no sense of oil, no inherent odor, or even lignification, hollow, loose bubbles, so the quality is also poor.
(ii) temperature
The temperature required for drying and processing of different medicinal herbs has a large difference. Temperature not only affects the speed of drying, but also affects the presence of the chemical composition of the condition of the herb, such as asparagus not after high-temperature cooking, can not be quickly dried, the content of asparagus is only 0.0006-0.113%; after cooking and drying quickly, the content of asparagus is greatly improved, up to 0.233-0.296%. Generally contain volatile oil, sugar more herbs should not be baked at high temperatures, high temperature will make a large loss of volatile oil, so that the sugar paste. Fruits, roots, underground stems drying often need higher temperatures, but the temperature is too high, especially sustained high temperature, easy to produce the outside dry inside not dry, the formation of crust, and easy to scorch, drying without oil feeling.
(C) water
Water for processing herbs to clean river water, well water, tap water is good. The use of turbid or high saline content of water, cleaning, dipping, boiling, will make the herbs contaminated, lose the proper color, such as cleaning half-summers, maitake should be carried out in clean running water, drying color white, good quality. The moisture content of the herbs not only affects the drying speed, processing drying rate, but also affects the quality, such as saffron, chrysanthemum harvested after the rain, containing more moisture, drying is easy to stick into a ball, dark color, drying is not timely but also easy to occur mold, rotten flowers, and so on.
(D) chemical composition
The chemical composition of medicinal plants is extremely complex, water-soluble, such as sugar, pectin, organic acids, tannins, pigments, glycosides and some alkaloids, etc.; as well as non-water-soluble, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, volatile oils, resins, starch and proteins. In the processing and drying process, the chemical composition of the herbs in the continuous change, if the processing and drying is not appropriate, often easy to cause the loss of active ingredients, and even qualitative changes. For example, containing glycoside components of herbs, not timely drying glycoside components are easy to decomposition loss; Another example, containing tannin herbs, processing using iron scraping, cutting, boiling, tannin component oxidation to make the herbs black, such as papaya, He Shouwu, Hovenia, etc..
(E) auxiliary materials
processing sometimes need to add some auxiliary materials to inhibit the bad taste, reduce toxicity, or to promote rapid drying, increase the color and lustre, etc., such as white peony impregnation by adding corn, pea flour pulp can inhibit oxidative discoloration. The salt and salt brine used in the processing of epiphyllum, the sugar used in the processing of ginseng (sugar ginseng), and the mussel shell lime used in the processing of Phellodendron amurense, etc. are all auxiliary materials. The quality of auxiliary materials, dosage, adding or mixing time and use, will affect the quality of the processing of medicinal herbs, improper use will reduce the effectiveness of the medicine, and even can not be used in medicine.
(F) processing equipment
Processing equipment refers to machinery, drying room, tools, etc., their quality will directly affect the quality of herbs. Such as peeling machinery of poor quality, peeling is not clean, or too much loss of herbs. The quality of tools is poor, the cut surface or peeling is not polished. Poor quality of drying room, kang stove, heating, cooling difficulties, did not meet the design requirements, so that the quality of drying herbs is poor, or even mold, scorching and so on.
(VII) processing technology
Processing technology is the main factor affecting the processing quality of herbs. Because of the above influencing factors, can be adjusted through it, so that unfavorable factors into favorable; will also be due to poor technology, so that favorable to become unfavorable, the quality of herbs is worse. Processing technology often affects every aspect of the process, such as steaming, boiling, scalding, impregnation, fire, time, color and other mastery, the proportion of auxiliary additives, timing and other control, drying temperature adjustment, etc., are through the producer's processing technology to show the quality of the advantages and disadvantages.
Three, the equipment required for processing
There are many types of equipment required for processing of medicinal herbs, and varies according to the medicinal herbs. Generally local, and strive to be simple and practical, can be a device with multi-functional better. The main equipment includes tools, machinery, smoking equipment, cooking and scalding equipment, impregnation equipment and drying equipment. One of the drying equipment see section III of this chapter.
(a) tools
Processing tools used for manual operation, mainly for mechanical processing difficulties, or small yield of herbs. For example, the removal of non-medicinal parts, scraping, cutting and other use of knives and scissors, cleaning, grading with the sieve, washing with the brush, baskets, baskets, steaming holes in the exhaust anti-cracking with the needle and so on. Processing a large number of medicinal herbs, the tools used by some similar machinery, but still rely on manual operation, such as Huanglian, zejia, ginger, turmeric, rhizoma ligustici, zhebeimu, etc., to remove the skin, sand, roots, so that the appearance of the herbs used in a clean cage, hit the bamboo, firewood barrels, and so on. Battering cage is a spindle-shaped bamboo cage [Figure 11-1 (1)], hit the bamboo basket is a rectangular bamboo basket [Figure 11-1 (2)], firewood barrel is a boat-shaped barrel [Figure 11-1 (3)], their ends have two bamboo or wood handle, so that the hand held back and forth to the push, in order to save energy center They can be suspended by a rope.
Figure 11-1 peeling tools
(1) hit the cage (2) hit the root and stem (3) firewood barrel
(2) machinery
Medicinal processing machinery is not much, mainly because of the many types of medicinal herbs, products of different shapes, small production, often a machine can only be used for a certain processing of a medicinal herb, can not be a machine for multiple use. Therefore, the current use of processing machinery are more specialized, or the use of other machinery. Herb processing mechanization, can greatly reduce physical labor, improve the efficiency and quality of processing herbs. According to the characteristics of the processing of herbs, should be a multi-capable and the development of miniaturized processing machinery as well.
(C) fumigation equipment
Fumigation equipment used mainly smoked cabinet and smoked room. Fumigation cabinet for the square or rectangular wooden cabinets, separated into two layers with bamboo curtains, the upper layer of laying herbs, the lower layer of the stove or pot burning sulfur. Smoking room is similar to the drying room, but the volume is smaller, outdoor oven burning sulfur, sulfur dioxide through the pipeline smoked into the room. Can also be placed indoors in the stove burning sulfur. The simplest equipment for sulfur fumigation is the use of cloth or plastic tents, in the tent inside the fire pit burning sulfur.
(D) steam cooking hot equipment
steaming, cooking, hot herbs using equipment, generally more simple, small production producers more than the use of life with rice pots, steamer (cage drawer). Production of a large number of specialized steaming equipment, such as boilers, epiphyllum processing with a large steamer, large iron pots and so on. Steamer cage is made of wood, bamboo or aluminum, the size is variable, mostly round or square. Cooking and scalding can also use machinery.
(E) impregnation, rinsing equipment
Impregnation, rinsing of herbs according to the specific configuration of the equipment. General production can be used in small household utensils, such as tanks, pots, buckets, etc. for dipping and rinsing herbs. Production of large multi-purpose construction of large pools, large pools can be constructed of concrete, stone, etc., and has a sewage outlet. Equipment used for rinsing should not be fixed, generally with barrels, basins, because the fixed equipment is inconvenient to operate, change the water for a long time.
Four, processing methods
There are many ways to process herbs, different herbs vary greatly. Some of the processing process is very simple, sun-dried or shade-dried can be, such as some seed herbs; some are more complex, such as ginseng, epiphyllum and so on. Therefore, it should be processed according to its characteristics, quality, specifications and other requirements. The processing of herbs can be divided into pre-drying treatment and post-drying treatment. The treatment before drying is also called processing pretreatment, mainly washing, cleaning, peeling, trimming, steaming hot, dipping and bleaching, fumigation, sweating and so on. After drying treatment, mainly trimming, grading, bundling, packaging and so on. Packaging is discussed separately in section IV of this chapter.
(A) washing
Washing is mainly to remove the surface of the herb sediment, dirt, and part of the coarse skin, fibrous roots, to facilitate boiling, drying and cleaning purposes. Washing is mostly used for roots and underground stems, especially the need for steaming and scalding of the northern ginseng, Ming Dangshen, asparagus, asparagus, yuzhu, etc., after the washing of the scalding of the color and lustre is good; the requirement of white herbs, but also need to be washed in order to meet the quality standards, such as ginseng, orange root, maitake, white peony, yam, zhebeimu, half-summer, and so on. But some of the appearance of bright color, or containing pigments can be dissolved in water, it is not suitable for water washing, such as Salvia divinorum, Huanglian, turmeric and so on.
Washing water should be clean, not muddy water, sewage. It is best to use baskets and piper to hold the herbs in running water, it is easier to remove the sediment. Wash poisonous herbs such as half-summer, Tannenbaum, konjac, etc., or skin irritation, allergy-prone herbs, such as yam, etc., you can first use rapeseed oil or ginger all over the hands and feet, to avoid poisoning.
(2) cleaning
Cleaning mainly to remove impurities and non-medicinal part of the herbs, while the initial grading, in order to facilitate the processing and drying respectively. Some impurities in the washing is not easy to remove all, can be removed by tools or hand. Non-medicinal part of the removal, such as roots of herbs often remove the ground part or reed head. With more than two medicinal parts, or medicinal parts and propagation materials, the clearing of the task of separating it, such as Panax quinquefolium and Dazhongye, tulip and turmeric, as well as Salvia divinorum, Chinese yam, Paeoniae lactiflora, and Yanhuisuo, etc..
(C) peel
Roots, underground stems, fruits, seeds and skin herbs often need to remove the epidermis (or pericarp, seed coat), so that the herbs are glossy, the internal moisture is easy to penetrate outward, dry fast. Peeling should be consistent thickness, to the appearance of smooth without roughness, to the extent that the outer skin. Peeling methods are hand peeling, tool peeling, mechanical peeling and chemical peeling.
1. Hand peeling
Generally small production, can not use tools or mechanical peeling, only the use of hand peeling. Some of the very irregular shape of the roots, underground stems, bark and root bark, more hand peeling, such as Platycodon grandiflorus, Paeonia lactiflora, Chinese yam, Duchenne, cypress, cinnamon and so on. General manual peeling should be carried out while fresh, peeling easy to exhaust, work efficiency is also high. To the peel of the fruit into the medicine, while fresh peel, such as Chenpi, green peel, etc., also belongs to the manual peeling.
2. Tool peeling
More applied to the drying of herbs or drying process peeling. Commonly used tools are the crash cage, crash rattan, wooden poke, baskets, sacks and so on. The herbs into the above tools, shaking, pushing them, so that the herbs are rubbed against each other, you can remove the rough skin, so that the appearance of the herbs clean.
3. Mechanical peeling
The production of large, regular shape of the herbs, mechanical peeling can be used, not only high efficiency, low cost, and to avoid poisoning. Generally use a small mixer to peel, such as half-summer, Tiannanxing, Zelig, etc.. Specialized peeling machinery around a lot of creation, such as zhebeimu wipe skin machine.
4. Chemical peeling
Currently used by very few, because chemicals are easy to contaminate the herbs, the use of must be careful. Chemical peeling is mainly the use of chemicals to corrode the skin of herbs to achieve the purpose of peeling. Commonly used chemicals are lime, alkali, etc., such as lime water impregnated with half-summer, can make the skin easy to fall off.
(D) trimming
Trimming is the use of pruning, cutting, shaping and other methods, to remove non-medicinal parts and non-standard parts, or to make the herbs neat, using the bundling, packaging. Trimming process should be based on the specifications of the herbs, quality requirements to develop, some should be completed before drying, some are completed after drying. Such as cutting off the reeds, fibrous roots, lateral roots, for slicing, cutting flaps, truncation, tapping, etc., more in the herbs before drying; cut off the stubs, buds, cutting not smooth parts, etc., often in the herbs after drying.
(E) steaming, cooking, scalding
Steaming, cooking, scalding is the fresh herbs in steam or boiling water for different lengths of time for heat treatment, are in the herbs before drying. The purpose is to drive out the air in the herbal tissue, destroy the oxidase enzyme, prevent oxidation, to avoid discoloration of the herbs; reduce the loss of active ingredients to ensure that the taste of the herbs do not qualitative changes; so that the protoplasm in the cells of the herbs coagulation, resulting in the separation of the plasma wall, drying water evaporation fast, drying quickly; so that the addition of auxiliary materials easy to penetrate inward; through the high temperature to destroy the poisonous materials in the herbs, so that it can be used to take the drug.
Steaming is the herbs in a cage drawer or retort, placed in a pot of boiling water on the heating, the use of steam for heat treatment. Steaming time depends on the purpose, in order to facilitate drying for the purpose of steaming until cooked through the heart, the steam straight through the top of the cage (top of the cauldron) to the degree, such as chrysanthemums, asparagus, etc.; in order to remove the toxicity for the purpose of steaming for a longer period of time, such as epiphyllums need to be steamed for 12-48 hours.
Cooking and scalding is the heat treatment of herbs in boiling water or cooked through the heart. Boiling time is long, the herbs need to be cooked, such as Tianma. Hot time is very short, to cook until cooked through the heart, the southwest region used to be called "scribble", such as Chuan Ming Shen, Dendrobium, Huang Jing, etc., hot after drying fast. Judge cook, hot whether cooked through the heart, can be taken out of the boiling water 1-2 herbs, blowing to its appearance, the appearance of rapid "dry" for the cooked through the heart; blowing the appearance is still wet, or drying is very slow, that is not yet cooked through the heart, should continue to cook, hot.
(F) dip bleaching
Dip bleaching refers to the impregnation and rinsing. Dipping is generally longer, some also add certain accessories. The rinsing time is short, and the water is changed diligently. The purpose of dipping and rinsing is to reduce the toxicity of the herbs and undesirable taste; inhibit the activity of oxidative enzymes, so as to avoid oxidative discoloration of the herbs, such as white peony, Chinese yam and so on. Soak and bleach should always pay attention to the changes in the shape, color, taste and other aspects of the herbs, to master the time, water replacement, the amount of auxiliary materials and the timing of adding. Soak and bleach water should be clean, change the water to be diligent, so as not to smell caused by moldy herbs.
(VII) sulfur fumigation
Sulfur fumigation is mainly carried out before drying, it is different from the storage period sulfur fumigation anti-mold purpose. Processing is the use of sulfur combustion to produce sulfur dioxide, to accelerate the drying, so that the product white purpose, and mold, insecticidal effect, such as Angelica dahurica, yam, etc.. Sulfur fumigation must make the sulfur combustion completely, in order to reduce the sublimation of sulfur particles remaining in the herbs to affect the quality of the herbs. Sulfur ignition point at 230 ℃ or more, so in the ignition should be added some auxiliary fuel in order to make it burn completely.
(H) sweating
Fresh herbs after heating or half-drying, stop heating, closed piles of heat, the internal water evaporates outward, when the air inside the heap is saturated with water gas, meet the heap outside the low temperature, the water condenses into water droplets attached to the surface of the herbs, such as human sweating, so this process is known as "sweating". Sweating is commonly used in the processing of herbs, unique process, it can effectively overcome the drying process to produce crust, so that the herb inside and outside the drying of the same, to speed up the drying speed; so that some volatile oils out of the mix, the chemical composition of the changes in the dried herbs appear more oily, glossy, or the aroma is more intense. Sweating methods are ordinary sweating and heating sweating.
1. Ordinary sweating
is the fresh herbs or semi-dry herbs piled up in one place, covered with straw mats and so on to let it heat, to achieve the purpose of sweating. This method is simple, the most widely used, such as XuanShen, BanLanGen, rhubarb, astragalus and so on. In addition, to take drying, night pile to make the herbs soft, also belongs to the ordinary sweating, such as mint and so on.
2. Sweating
The fresh herbs or semi-dry herbs will be warmed up and sealed to make them sweat, called sweating. For example, thick Park, Duchenne with boiling water scalded several times to heat, and then stacked sweating; Yunnan processing Poria is digging a pit with firewood and grass burning hot, cushion grass layer, and then interspersed with Poria and grass, and then finally cover the grass closed so that the sweating. The former is called water sweat, the latter is called fire sweat.
In addition, to effectively master the time and frequency of sweating. General semi-dry and basic dry herbs, sweating once can be; fresh herbs, fleshy roots or underground stems containing more moisture, sweating time should be a little longer, the number of times can be more. High temperature season, sweating time should be short to avoid mold deterioration; low temperature season, sweating time should be a little longer.