Drying Technology of Coptis Chinensis Drying

There is a saying that goes, "If a mute eats Coptis chinensis, they cannot express their bitterness.Coptis chinensis, also known as Weilian, Chuanlian, and Jizhaolian, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Ranunculaceae and Coptis chinensis genera. Its leaves are basal, hard papery, ovate triangular in shape, with three complete cracks. The central lobe is ovate rhombic in shape, with a feather shaped deep crack, sharp serrations on the edge, and lateral lobes ranging from 2 deep cracks; The petiole is 5-12cm long. Wild or cultivated in valleys with an altitude of 1000-1900m in cool, damp, shaded forests.Coptis chinensis has an extremely bitter taste in the mouth, but it has the effects of clearing heat, drying dampness, purging fire, and detoxifying, such as Perilla Coptis chinensis soup.

Coptis chinensis prefers cold, moist, and shaded conditions, while avoiding high temperatures and droughts. It is a medicinal plant with a longer growth period. Generally distributed in high mountain areas ranging from 1200 to 1800 meters, it requires a natural environment with low temperature and high air humidity. Unable to withstand strong sunlight and prefers weak light, it requires shade. Generally, it takes five years to dig, and the most suitable harvesting period for Coptis chinensis is from early October to late November.

Drying process steps of Coptis chinensis:

The main challenges in the initial processing of Coptis chinensis currently lie in adopting reasonable drying techniques to obtain high-quality dry Coptis chinensis, as well as adopting reasonable mechanization methods to achieve good appearance quality.

1. After picking Coptis chinensis, clean it thoroughly to remove soil and stains. Drip the excess water on the surface and place it in a drying tray (choose a drying tray with water leakage) on a drying rack before entering the drying process.

2. The higher the drying temperature of Coptis chinensis, the faster the drying speed, but the quality of Coptis chinensis dried will decrease accordingly.

3. Coptis chinensis is suitable for low-temperature drying, with a temperature not exceeding 80 ℃. The drying time is determined by the drying amount of Coptis chinensis, usually 3-5 hours,

4. If you feel that the drying is not thorough enough after drying, you can place it for cooling and then dry it again. The temperature should not exceed 60 ℃ for 2-4 hours. When the internal temperature of the Coptis chinensis baking room is about 60 ℃, the quality of Coptis chinensis dried is the best. The dried Coptis chinensis can be packaged by cooling it in a room temperature environment.

Effect of Coptis chinensis:

Coptis chinensis is the dry rhizome of the Ranunculaceae plants Coptis chinensis, triangular leaf Coptis chinensis, or Yunlian. It has the effect of clearing heat, drying dampness, purging fire, and detoxifying. Used for damp and hot bloating, vomiting and acid swallowing, diarrhea, jaundice, high fever and dizziness, hyperactivity of heart fire, restlessness, blood heat vomiting and bleeding, red eyes, toothache; Used for febrile diseases such as high fever, thirst and irritability, bloody fever, and heat toxic sores. Treating febrile diseases such as high fever and excessive heart fire, compatible with gardenia, forsythia, etc; For blood heat disorder, it can be used in combination with baicalin and rhubarb; For heat toxic sores, it can be used in combination with herbs such as red peony and peony bark.