How to store Chinese herbal medicines?

1. Control temperature and humidity to prevent mildew and deterioration. There are a lot of mold spores in the air. If it is dispersed on the surface of the drug, it will germinate into hypha at appropriate temperature and humidity, produce protease, invade the internal tissue of the drug, and lead to mildew and deterioration of the drug. When the water in the medicine is steamed to the surface and the temperature is between 20℃ and 35℃, the mold begins to multiply. Therefore, the storage of decoction pieces should be low-temperature, ventilated and dry, with water content controlled at 8%- 10%, relative humidity below 65% and temperature below 25℃.

2. Choose a closed container to prevent oxidation discoloration. The true color of traditional Chinese medicine is one of the signs of good or bad quality. The change of color indicates that the internal quality of the drug has changed. For example, drugs containing glycosides, hydroxyanthraquinone, tannins, etc. Due to long storage time or frequent drying in the sun, the enzyme contained in it will undergo redox reaction at a suitable temperature, which will change the color of the medicinal materials. Protein-containing drugs, amino acids and reducing sugar can also cause discoloration of traditional Chinese medicine. Flowers, whole grass, leaves and other easily discolored medicinal materials. , should be stored in a closed container away from light. Such as storax and saffron, be sure to keep it moist, otherwise it will easily change color. Wine vinegar decoction pieces, such as rhubarb, scutellaria baicalensis, corydalis tuber, etc. , should be placed in a closed container to prevent the smell of wine and vinegar from volatilization and failure. Salt products are easy to get wet or precipitate salt after high temperature, and should be stored in a cool and dry place, not in metal containers.

3. Preserve Chinese herbal medicines under closed conditions by modified atmosphere preservation technology. This technology is mainly through adjusting the gas composition in the air, such as reducing the oxygen concentration and increasing the carbon dioxide concentration, etc., to achieve the purpose of killing insects, preventing insects, preventing mildew and preventing discoloration, and at the same time, it can better maintain the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. This technology is green, safe and non-toxic, simple to operate and widely used. It is the most suitable maintenance technology at present. Many large pharmaceutical companies in China are using this technology, which can meet the traceability of Chinese herbal medicines. Pharmacopoeia also stipulates that Chinese herbal medicines stored for more than 30 days should adopt technologies such as modified atmosphere preservation.

4, avoid high temperature, to overcome the phenomenon of oil. Some Chinese herbal pieces are commonly known as oily because they get wet or overflow the surface at high temperature. Such as fatty almond, peach kernel, almond and arborvitae seed. Angelica sinensis and Cinnamomum cassia containing volatile oil. And Ophiopogon japonicus, Asparagus, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, Lycium barbarum, etc. It is also easy to remove grease. When it is dry, it should not be baked at high temperature or exposed to the sun, but should be stored in a cool and dry place. Another example is coix seed, malt, radish seed and perilla seed. Seeds and fruits contain more starch and fatty oil. After processing, they can be stored in containers while the steam is exhausted. Drugs with high oil content should be thoroughly cooled and dried, and then placed in a tightly covered container and placed in a cool and dry place.