Identification of traditional Chinese medicine focuses on appearance

The authenticity and quality of traditional Chinese medicine will directly affect the clinical application effect and the life safety of patients Therefore, it is of great significance for the identification of traditional Chinese medicine There are many identification methods for traditional Chinese medicine, which can be generally divided into the identification of natural plant morphology, the identification of external characteristics of processed medicinal materials, the identification of microscopic structure observed by microscope, as well as the identification methods of chemical analysis and bioassay Among them, the most important and commonly used is the empirical identification method of traditional Chinese medicine, that is, the identification of the appearance and properties of traditional Chinese medicine Here are some simple experience identification methods for you: first, look at the appearance, pay attention to the appearance characteristics of the medicinal materials, such as the epidermis, color, shape, thickness, section, etc 1 Look at the surface of the medicine Different kinds of medicinal materials have different appearance characteristics because of different parts For example, root medicine is mostly cylindrical or spindle shaped, while rhizome medicine has more stem marks, skin medicine is mostly drum shaped, etc In addition, some medicinal materials have their own specific surface characteristics, such as luster, roughness, scaly leaves, lenticels, hairs and protuberances For example, the shape of seahorse price is summarized as "horse head, snake tail and corrugated body", antelope horn has "eye to the sky", windbreak price has "earthworm price head", etc These characteristics are the important basis to identify the quality of genuine medicinal materials 2 Look at the color The difference or change of the color of medicinal materials is not only related to its variety and quality, but also directly affected by improper processing and storage methods, so the color is an important factor in the identification of medicinal materials We can distinguish the variety, place of origin and quality of the medicinal materials by observing the appearance color of the medicinal materials For example, the price of Coptis should be yellow, the price of Salvia miltiorrhiza should be red, and the price of Xuanshen should be black 3 Look at the section No matter plants or animals, they are all made of layers of tissues and organs When the medicinal materials are cut, the layers of structures will be clearly displayed, just like the rings of ancient trees Many cross-sections of medicinal materials have obvious characteristics, which are the direct reflection of the internal structure of medicinal materials We can clearly see all kinds of layers, lines and small dots of different shapes For example, we can see the obvious wheel texture on the self-defense price section, while the broken section texture of Astragalus price is like "chrysanthemum price center", and the price of Eucommia ulmoides is more connected with colloidal filaments when it is broken, etc These unique cross-section characteristics are the important basis for the identification of medicinal materials Two, hand touch Feel the softness, hardness, weight, looseness, density, smoothness, stickiness and coarseness of the medicinal materials by hand, so as to identify the quality of the medicinal materials The texture of different medicinal materials is different, even if it is the same kind of medicinal materials, there will be great differences due to different processing methods For example, the price of jingsanleng is solid, while that of paosanleng is light; the price of salt aconite is soft, and that of black aconite is hard 3、 Taste and smell The smell of medicinal materials is related to its ingredients Nose smell is an important identification method, especially for the identification of some medicinal materials with strong smell, such as the smell of mint, Houttuynia, ferula and so on The significance of taste method to identify medicinal materials is not only the taste but also the "sense of taste" The taste can be divided into five flavors: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty, such as the acid of Hawthorn price, the bitter of Coptis price and the sweet of liquorice price Taste is divided into hemp, astringent, light, slippery, cool, greasy and so on The taste of traditional Chinese medicine is also closely related to the chemical substances it contains In the practice of taste identification of traditional Chinese medicine, it can be judged according to the variety and quality of traditional Chinese medicine 4、 Water test and fire test Some medicinal materials in water, or with a fire will produce a special phenomenon If the powder of bear gall is placed in water, it will first rotate on the water surface, and then sink into a yellow line without diffusion When the musk is burned, it will produce strong fragrance, leaving white dust after burning These special phenomena are closely related to the chemical components contained in the medicinal materials and are commonly used identification methods ? the experience identification of traditional Chinese medicine is a very practical and good method, but to correctly identify the true and false quality of traditional Chinese medicine, it needs many years of experience accumulation, and the continuous enrichment of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge, in order to recognize the medicine accurately.