How to smoke flue-cured tobacco with sulfur?

"Sulfur fumigation" has existed since ancient times, and the problem lies in excessive sulfonation.

In a closed place, Chinese herbal medicine and sulfur are separated by a shelf. After the sulfur is ignited, the Chinese herbal medicines placed on the shelf need to be sealed, so that the Chinese herbal medicines can be smoked overnight to prevent insects and whiten. A few days ago, some farmers in Longxi County, Gansu Province, the birthplace of the famous Radix Astragali and Radix Codonopsis, illegally used sulfur to fumigate Chinese herbal medicines and were exposed by the media. The unannounced visit found that there was a pungent smell of sulfur everywhere outside the fumigation shed, in the yard and on the street.

Sulfur fumigation, as a traditional Chinese medicine processing method, has been banned by the State Administration of Pharmaceutical Products because it may produce sulfur dioxide residue and cause harm to human body. However, the reporter learned that sulfur fumigation has always been the "hidden rule" of the Chinese medicine processing industry. Most Chinese herbal medicines have been used in the rough processing of growers, and some drug dealers have to use sulfur fumigation in the later storage process, resulting in excessive sulfur dioxide content in Chinese herbal medicines.

"The method of sulfur fumigation has existed since ancient times, and it is a simple and effective Chinese herbal medicine treatment method." Zhang Ji, director of the herbarium of China Food and Drug Administration, told the Beijing News.

Zhang Ji said that fumigation of Chinese herbal medicines with sulfur has always been one of the production processes of Chinese herbal medicines in China. Although some unscrupulous traders can still whiten Chinese herbal medicines by sulfur fumigation, it can't be denied that it has the function of sterilization and acaricide, because most Chinese herbal medicines are natural plants or minerals, which are prone to insects and mildew, and their efficacy will change after long storage. Fumigating Chinese herbal medicine with sulfur is beneficial to the storage of Chinese herbal medicine and the stability of its efficacy.

In addition, Zhang Ji emphasized that one of the most important functions of sulfur fumigation is drying. Some Chinese herbal medicines are difficult to store and use because of their high humidity. Sulfur fumigation can quickly remove water from Chinese herbal medicines. Yam, for example, has a lot of moisture when it is just harvested, so it can't be processed into medicine without drying. Sulfur fumigation can quickly play a role in drying.

Although the method of sulfur fumigation has been used, there are regulations on the scope and dosage of sulfur fumigation. Zhang Ji said that in recent years, some unscrupulous traders blindly pursued the appearance of medicinal materials, extended the storage time, and smoked a large number of Chinese medicinal materials with sulfur. The medicinal materials smoked excessively with sulfur are bright and beautiful in color, and because they need water during smoking, they can also make the medicinal materials gain weight.

For example, after Codonopsis pilosula is wet smoked with sulfur, the water content in the medicinal materials can be as high as 20% ~ 30% without mildew. When Angelica sinensis is smoked wet, the highest moisture content can be increased by nearly 70%, which greatly increases the weight of medicinal materials. "This kind of overuse not only violates the original smoking concept, but even causes potential harm to the human body."

It is reported that sulfur will combine with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide during fumigation. Medical research has confirmed that sulfur dioxide is harmful to human body. Long-term contacts will have symptoms such as jealousy, eye pain, tears, insomnia, dizziness, vomiting, nausea and fatigue. In severe cases, reflex glottic spasm, decreased speech ability, dysphagia, breath holding and other symptoms may occur. If the air humidity is high, sulfur dioxide reacts with water and oxygen in the air to generate sulfurous acid, which makes the medicinal materials discolor and sour, and the decoction pieces discolor and taste.

Some experts have done experiments. The sulfurous acid content of slightly smoked Angelica sinensis is generally 20 ppm (ppm which has little effect on human body. However, it was shocking to detect the content of 3000 ~ 4000 ppm when testing the over-fumigated medicinal materials.

Guo Fanli, a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry of China Investment Consulting, believes that sulfur fumigation is no secret in the Chinese medicine industry, commonly known as "sulfation".

Several bamboo poles and a piece of plastic film can be seen everywhere in the yard of local drug farmers on both sides of the road in Longxi County. Hundreds of pounds of angelica are tied into bundles and put directly in the shed. Sulfur evaporated at high temperature, mixed with water vapor, overflowed and swallowed every corner of the tent. This processing technology called "sulfur fumigation" is very popular in the local area. Angelica sinensis should be smoked every few days before it is sold.

Every year from June 5438 to 10, local farmers will clean and dry the Chinese herbal medicines after harvesting them, and then after preliminary fumigation, flattening and slicing, they will be transported to the medicinal market in Bozhou, Anhui Province and scattered all over the country, and finally flow into pharmacies and hospitals around the country.