How to identify sulfur fumigated herbs

Recently, some media reported that lilies smoked with sulfur appeared in Shandong Province In recent years, the news of illegal use of sulfur for medicinal materials has been reported in the newspapers from time to time Why do you smoke herbs with sulfur? What's the harm of sulfur fumigation? How to identify sulfur fumigated herbs? Why sulfur is used as preservative and antioxidant in food industry For example, sulfur fumigation when making dried fruits and preserved fruits The sulfur dioxide gas generated by sulfur combustion can directly kill the pests inside the medicinal materials, inhibit the activity of bacteria and mold; it can also combine with the moisture of the wet medicinal materials to form sulfite, further forming sulfite, which has antioxidant effect, and has a certain help for the preliminary processing and storage of the medicinal materials In fact, the practice of sulfur fumigation and maintenance of medicinal materials is very meticulous It will make the air of sulfur dioxide fumigation act on the medicinal materials indirectly Moreover, the medicinal materials "through the air" after fumigation will continue to volatilize in the process of transfer, transportation, etc., and the residual amount of sulfur dioxide will be further reduced, so it is safer But now, the purpose of sulfur fumigation is to make the medicine white and bright, and it can not go bad when the water content is large and the weight is increased In 2005 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the method of sulfur fumigation in the processing of yam and kudzu root was deleted, which further indicated that sulfur fumigation was not allowed to bleach, brighten and prevent insects The function and harm of sulfur are commonly used mineral medicines After mining, they are heated and melted to remove impurities, or they are made from sulfur-containing minerals It was first recorded in Shennong Materia Medica, which was included in calendar edition and Chinese Pharmacopoeia Sexual taste: acid, temperature; toxic External use of detoxification and insecticidal treatment of sore; internal use of tonifying fire to help Yang and defecate External treatment is used for scabies, alopecia and gangrene; internal treatment is used for impotence, cold feet, cold asthma and constipation Apply appropriate amount of external application, grind the end and apply oil to the affected area The dosage was 1.5-3g, and the pills were taken in powder after processing Sulfur over fumigation of traditional Chinese medicine may have potential effects on human health Sulfur dioxide can react with oxygen in the air to form sulfur dioxide in the process of fumigation Sulfur dioxide is a traditional air pollutant, which can cause a variety of respiratory diseases After sulfur dioxide is inhaled into the human body, it is easily absorbed by the moist mucous membrane surface to form sulphurous acid, which has a strong stimulating effect on the mucous membrane of eyes and respiratory tract Long term exposure to low concentration sulfur dioxide gas can produce headache, dizziness, fatigue and other systemic symptoms, as well as chronic rhinitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, olfactory and hypoesthesia and other symptoms Long term exposure to sulfur dioxide residues of Chinese herbal medicines will cause vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and other symptoms, and seriously harm the liver and kidney, such as chronic rhinitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, even bronchial asthma, emphysema, may also increase the incidence of lung cancer One smell of the method to identify sulfur medicine: if you can smell a sour and choking sulfur gas with your nose, the sulfur dioxide residue will be quite serious, which is rare Second, look at the color and "appearance" of the medicinal materials Zeng Huifang introduced that after sulfur fumigation, the surface of the medicinal materials will be cleaner, the color will be whiter or brighter, and the shape of the tablets will be better For example, herbs such as yam, chrysanthemum, Lily and Fritillaria thunbergii are generally light yellow or gray after drying If they show white color, it is more suspicious For herbs such as wolfberry, which have color originally, the color is generally dark after drying If they show particularly bright color, it is also more suspicious Third taste: if it's hard to judge from the color, you can also taste whether it's sour If you have time, you can take a proper amount of water bubble to see whether the water has sour taste Four pinches: since the water content of the medicine after sulfur fumigation is higher than that of the medicine without sulfur fumigation, it should also be noted that if you feel heavy and soft, and the water content is particularly large.