How to distinguish the authenticity of Poria cocos

Poria cocos can be used for skin care and as medicine. If you want to distinguish the authenticity of Poria cocos, you must first learn to select it. When purchasing Poria cocos, you must first judge it by its appearance, changes in it, and the substances on the surface. Sometimes the real and fake ones look very similar, so it is easy to confuse them and it is easy to mislead us. Here are some relevant knowledge points for you.

How to choose Poria cocos

Poria cocos can be used as medicine and also as a beauty product. Poria cocos is mainly produced in Yunnan and Anhui, and is called Yun Fuling and Dabieshan Fuling respectively. It has the effects of promoting diuresis and eliminating dampness, strengthening the spleen and calming the mind. But recently, moldy Poria cocos has appeared in the market. What is going on? How can we distinguish between real and fake Poria cocos?

Experts point out that Poria cocos is a fungal medicinal material that does not contain starch and generally does not mold. However, the Poria cocos obtained by pressing and slicing after being mixed with starch will become moldy.

Poria cocos, a traditional Chinese medicine name. It is the dried sclerotium of the Polyporaceae fungus Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf. Most of them are dug up from July to September. After digging, the mud and sand are removed, and they are piled up to "sweat". Then they are spread out to dry until the surface is dry. Then they are "sweated" again. This process is repeated several times until wrinkles appear and most of the internal moisture is lost. Then they are dried in the shade and are called "Poria cocos pieces". Or fresh Poria cocos is cut into different parts and dried in the shade, which are called "Poria cocos blocks" and "Poria cocos slices" respectively.

Poria

The appearance of fake Poria cocos is very similar to the genuine one, and can be judged by the following methods:

Fake Poria cocos is usually cut into dices, which are square medicinal materials with a size of 5 to 8 mm. Upon closer inspection, one can see that the surface color is slightly uneven, with occasional mold spots, a faint odor, and a slightly sweet taste. Mycelium and starch granules can be seen under an ordinary optical microscope when the water-mounted slide is broken. The starch granules are small and irregular. A small amount of powder is added with dilute iodine solution and it turns light blue.

The cross-section of genuine Poria cocos is generally more delicate than that of fake ones, and it has a light taste when chewed. Under an optical microscope, a large amount of mycelium can be seen in the powder, with no starch grains, and there is no obvious color change when dilute iodine solution is added.

Poria cocos is a commonly used medicinal material and is particularly widely used in clinical practice. If fake Poria cocos is used incorrectly, it will not only fail to have a therapeutic effect, but will also easily breed mold in a humid environment and produce toxins, which will have toxic side effects on the human body. Therefore, we remind everyone to be sure to identify the authenticity when purchasing Poria cocos medicine to prevent harm to your health.

The above introduces the methods of identifying and selecting Poria cocos. When you buy Poria cocos in the future, you can choose Poria cocos according to the methods introduced above.