Study advances of microwave processing technology in traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The iterative innovation of processing technology is one of the important tasks in studies on processing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). It is also the prerequisite for modern, refined, automatic and intelligent manufacturing of TCM pieces. Microwave processing is a new fire processing technique developed in the recent 30 years, with a unique thermodynamic form, and energy transfer and transformation laws. Moreover, it owns the advantages of a high processing efficiency, good product properties and low production energy consumption, with great application prospects. This paper introduced the study overview of microwave expansion technology in the food industry, reviewed the origin of microwave processing technology of TCM, and expounded the basic concept, principle and main purpose of microwave processing technology used in TCM. Then, the impacts of drug factors and microwave factors on the microwave processing effect were summarized, the industrial equipment that could be used for microwave processing was listed, and the impacts of microwave heating on starch, polysaccharide, protein and other components in Chinese herbal medicines were analyzed. Furthermore, the study advance of microwave processing of 14 herbs was investigated, including Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparaia, Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum and Asini Corii Colla; and the appearance and components of herbs processed by traditional processing method and microwave processing method were compared, so as to reveal the opportunities and challenges of microwave processing technology in the industrial transformation. We hoped that the systematic study of microwave processing technology could provide new ideas and techniques for the high-quality and high-level development of the TCM pieces industry in the new era, and promote its inheritance, innovation and transformation.

Pharmaceutical mechanism and control strategy for storage of ellagic acid stably in traditional Chinese medicine oral liquid / 药学学报

Ellagic acid is ubiquitous in plants and is considered as a potential candidate for antioxidant and antineoplastic drugs. However, ellagic acid has poor solubility and precipitates easily even after initial solubilization. Improvement of its bioavailability has been a concern of pharmaceutical industry. It was found that storage in Sanlejiang oral liquid at low temperature keeps its stability. Ellagic acid is anomalous in a way that is easily soluble at low temperatures but precipitates at high temperatures. In order to reveal the mechanism of this phenomenon and develop precipitation prevention and control strategies, ellagic acid in Sanlejiang oral liquid was stored at high, medium and low temperatures for three months. The changes of composition and phase state of the whole system during storage were systematically tracked and studied by means of precipitation amount or morphology, HPLC chemical profile of supernatant versus precipitates, and comprehensive characterization of physical phase state. The results show that the amount of precipitation at low temperature is only 1/3 of that at normal room temperature. As the temperature rises, the sedimentation increases sharply. HPLC analyses of supernatant versus precipitates revealed that ellagic acid precipitation originated from two ways: chemical degradation and physical deposition. The chemical sedimentation is related to the hydrolysis of tannins under acidic condition, forming chebulagic acid and corilagin. Physical sedimentation is related to the decrease of the association degree and viscosity of polyphenol colloids when temperature rises. This study elucidated the stability mechanism of ellagic acid in liquid preparations of TCM, and provided the mechanistic basis for efficient utilization and solution prepartion of ellagic acid.