What is the identification method of traditional Chinese medicine?

Everyone has heard of Chinese medicine. It is a medicine used under the guidance of traditional Han medicine. In fact, Chinese medicine can be divided into two types: Chinese patent medicine and Chinese medicinal materials. Chinese medicine mainly originated in China and there are many types. These are very complicated and most people probably don’t know much about them. Chinese medicine is generally made by boiling. So how many people know how to identify Chinese medicine? Let’s explain the identification method of Chinese medicine below.

1. Look at the surface of the medicinal materials. Different types of medicinal materials have different appearance characteristics due to different parts of the body where they are used. For example, root-based medicinal materials are mostly cylindrical or spindle-shaped, while rhizome-based medicinal materials have more stem scars, and bark-based medicinal materials are mostly rolled, and so on. In addition, some medicinal materials have their own specific surface characteristics, which may be shiny, rough, or have scales, pores, hairs and protrusions. For example, the appearance of a seahorse is summarized as "a horse head, a snake tail, a corrugated body", the antelope horns have "eyes that can see through the sky", and the windbreaker has a "worm head". These characteristics are important bases for identifying the authenticity and quality of authentic medicinal materials.

2. Look at the color. The difference or change in the color of medicinal materials is not only related to its variety and quality, but improper processing and storage methods will also directly affect the color of the medicinal materials. Therefore, color is an important factor in identifying medicinal materials. We can distinguish the variety, origin and quality of medicinal materials by observing the color of their appearance. For example, Coptis chinensis should be yellow in color, Salvia miltiorrhiza should be red in color, and Scrophularia ningpoensis should be black in color.

3. Look at the cross section. Whether plants or animals, they are all made up of layers of tissues and organs. When the medicinal materials are cut open, these layers of structures will be clearly displayed, just like the annual rings of an ancient tree. The cross-sections of many medicinal materials have obvious characteristics, and these characteristics are a direct reflection of the internal structure of the medicinal materials. We can clearly see various layers, textures and small dots of different shapes. For example, obvious wheel texture can be seen on the cross section of Stephania tetrandra, while the cross section texture of Astragalus membranaceus appears like a "chrysanthemum heart", and Eucommia ulmoides has gelatinous filaments connected when it is broken, and so on. These unique cross-sectional features are an important basis for identifying medicinal materials. Use your hands to feel the softness, hardness, weight, looseness or density, smoothness or stickiness, and fineness or roughness of the medicinal materials to identify the quality of the medicinal materials. The texture of different medicinal materials is different. Even if they are the same medicinal materials, there will be great differences due to different processing and preparation methods. For example, Trigonella argyi is solid and heavy, while Trigonella argyi soaked is light; Salt-soaked Aconite is soft, while Black Aconite is hard.

4. Taste with your mouth and smell with your nose. The smell of medicinal materials is related to the ingredients they contain. Smell is a relatively important identification method, especially for identifying some medicinal materials with strong smells, such as the fragrance of mint, the fishy smell of Houttuynia cordata, the stench of asafoetida, etc. The significance of identifying medicinal materials by tasting lies not only in the taste but also in the "taste sensation". The taste is divided into five categories: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty, such as the sourness of hawthorn, the bitterness of coptis chinensis and the sweetness of licorice. The taste sensations are divided into numb, astringent, light, smooth, cool, and greasy. The taste of medicinal materials is also closely related to the chemical substances they contain. In the practice of tasting and identifying Chinese medicinal materials, they can be judged according to their variety and quality.

5. Water test and fire test. Some medicinal herbs will produce special phenomena when placed in water or burned with fire. If bear bile powder is placed in water, it will first rotate on the water surface, then sink in a yellow line without spreading. When musk is burned, it produces a strong aroma and leaves white ash after burning out. These special phenomena are closely related to the chemical components contained in the medicinal materials and are commonly used identification methods.

Each type of medicinal material is different and the medicinal effects are also different. I hope that everyone can learn a lot about how to choose Chinese medicine. This will also allow everyone to understand more about various aspects. Chinese medicine is profound and there is a lot of knowledge that we need to learn and understand.