What are the main problems in the processing of traditional Chinese medicine?

Due to the great leadership principle of "syndrome differentiation and treatment" in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the differences between regions and human bodies, different medication habits in different places have also led to the diversification of processing methods. Personally, I think there are the following problems in the processing of traditional Chinese medicine: 1. Process standardization: Due to the different medication habits and historical evolution in different parts of the country, as well as the regional differences in the quality of medicinal materials, there are regional differences in processing methods. Although there is a unified national standard at present, some products are still not standardized, or some areas are still using some traditional processing methods that are denied by modern research, and so on. 2. Formulation of quality standard: It is difficult to formulate (and identify) the quality standard of decoction pieces due to the diversity of the quality of original medicinal materials and processing methods. At present, many fingerprint studies in this field (the 20 10 Pharmacopoeia will be renamed as "characteristic fingerprint"), just like many Chinese herbal medicines and prescription preparations, only the content of index components is limited, and it is impossible to determine the content range of effective drug quality like western medicine. 3. Improvement of methods: Some processing methods used in history are time-consuming and laborious, which are not suitable for large-scale production. 4. Improvement of related large-scale production machines: some very emotional standards in ancient cooking, such as "slight sonic boom" and other empirical judgments, are not suitable for large-scale production, because it is difficult to monitor the control of temperature and moisture in a closed wok; Although there is machine production at present, a single process still needs a lot of human resources. Therefore, the improvement of production machines can further improve the quality of standardized production of decoction pieces. 5. Research direction: Through my contact with some graduate students majoring in processing, I feel that most of the current research efforts focus on processing methods and quality control, while there is a certain disconnect between small-scale experiments and large-scale production processes, and there is little research on product packaging and storage. Because some processed products commonly used in clinic are fermented products, it is difficult to control microorganisms. In addition, for some decoction pieces containing volatile and heat-sensitive substances, ordinary packaging also has an important impact on the loss of effective components. It is believed that in order to expand the market (at home and abroad), besides the improvement of methods and the control of quality standards, we should also start from the aspects of production and packaging (I can't help but buy a bottle because I have seen Chinese herbal pieces produced overseas with exquisite packaging).