The processing method that should not be used for drugs whose active ingredients are volatile oils is: heating and processing.

The basic process of processing traditional Chinese medicine:

1. Washing and selection

Washing is mainly used to remove sand and dirt from medicinal materials, and is mostly used for roots and rhizomes. . Medicinal materials that are directly sun-dried or shade-dried and medicinal materials with aromatic smell generally do not need to be washed with water. The selection is mainly to remove impurities and non-medicinal parts, and at the same time, it is preliminarily graded to facilitate separate processing and drying.

2. Trimming and cutting

Use pruning, cutting, shaping and other methods to remove non-medicinal parts and substandard parts, and keep the medicinal materials neat and convenient for packaging, such as cutting off the reeds The heads and fibrous roots are sliced, flapped, and shortened. At present, medicinal materials are mostly processed and cut fresh in the place of origin, which makes them easy to cut, good in shape, quick to dry, reduces some processes, and is low-cost.

3. Peeling and shelling

Remove the skin or shell of fruit seeds, roots and rhizome medicinal materials, and skin medicinal materials to make the surface of the medicinal materials smooth and clean, which is conducive to drying and storage. For fruit and seed medicinal materials, they are generally dried and shelled after harvesting to remove the seeds; or the seeds are shelled and then dried.

4. Steaming, boiling, and blanching

Some medicinal materials are steamed, boiled, or blanched before drying. Medicinal materials containing a lot of mucilage, starch, or sugar are not easy to dry. After steaming, boiling or blanching, they dry quickly and are less likely to breed insects. The length of heating time and the heating method adopted depend on the nature of the medicinal materials. After the medicinal materials are heated, they are not only easy to dry, but also easier to peel and core.