Notoginseng, also known as "gold does not change", is a plant with the same origin of medicine and food. It can not only be used to cook delicious food, but also be used as a medicine to treat some diseases, which is of high value. And the Sanqi on the market is also uneven. There are still some skills on how to choose a good notoginseng.

How to buy notoginseng:

When buying notoginseng, it is best to be big, solid, slippery and claw-free. Panax notoginseng is a perennial plant, which will take more than 3 years to harvest. The longer the planting period, the bigger the head and the better the quality. Therefore, the size and grade of Panax notoginseng depends on how many heads (slices) there are per catty. For example, 40 heads represent 365,438+0 ~ 40 heads per catty, and 60 heads represent 465,438+0 ~ 60 heads per catty; Folk classification is not so strict, l20 (120) generally means no more than 130 per catty, and 80 means no more than 85 per catty. In short, the more heads, the smaller the heads, and the larger the heads. Notoginseng with 20 heads and 40 heads usually needs to be planted for more than 7 years, which is the best of Notoginseng. Panax notoginseng is dry, big, heavy, solid and slippery, and its section is grayish green or grayish black.

The roots of Panax notoginseng are big and stout, with large and round particles (commonly known as "Hericium erinaceus", "lion's head" or "snail's head"), the surface is glossy grayish brown, the pulp is dark brown, and there is no crack (commonly known as "iron bone with copper skin"). The bitter and sweet spring Panax notoginseng is the best.

Wenshan, Yunnan is the best place of origin. For example, Changhong Sanqi, a 23-year-old brand, is the authentic Spring Sanqi in Wenshan, Yunnan. Tian Yang, Guangxi (hence the name Tianqi) is second, but it is not bad (some people think that there are more branches of Panax notoginseng produced in Guangxi, so the "lion head" is bigger, but the taproot is not as thick as that produced in Yunnan). None of the products produced in other regions are genuine.

In addition, due to various reasons in production, the taproot is fine on the top and thick on the bottom. The disparity is large, and it is often called "seven bumps"; The taproot is even in thickness from top to bottom, commonly known as "radish seven", both of which are inferior.

1, odd days?

The number of heads of Panax notoginseng refers to the number per kilogram of body weight. Generally speaking, the longer the growth cycle, the more detailed the breeding, and the less the number of Panax notoginseng. Then why the fewer people, the better? Scientifically speaking, the most important component in panax notoginseng is panax notoginseng saponins. The less the number of heads, the higher the content of panax notoginseng saponins. In fact, to put it simply, Panax notoginseng with a long growth cycle can be more concentrated (just a general meaning, easy for everyone to understand).

2. Tianqi powder or Tianqi?

Notoginseng sold in the market is mainly the root of Notoginseng, which is similar in shape to ginseng (see the identification of specific shape below). Tianqi powder is polished by Tianqi. We generally recommend buying unprocessed Tianqi powder as much as possible, because chemicals such as paraffin and talcum powder are added to the polishing of Tianqi powder at present, which makes Tianqi powder look more shiny, but long-term practical use of paraffin and talcum powder is very harmful to human body. And many merchants will add fine sand to increase the weight of Tianqi powder, so try to avoid buying Tianqi powder directly when buying Tianqi powder. At present, major pharmacies can help to polish Tianqi powder with a little money. Panax notoginseng is the simplest and most direct crude product. Tianqi powder is light yellow, very light, and it feels like it is coming up. Open the package and smell it. It should also be a very comfortable medicine. You can taste it. It will be slightly bitter and sweet. Now some bad elements will fake it. The color of some flour is different from the normal light yellow. The most vicious thing is talcum powder, which is crazy. Smell it more. There is an impure smell in the medicine. Some of them are green, and this one may be added with the broken powder of Sanqihua. This is no big deal. Some added notoginseng leaves.

3. The concept of "authentic medicinal materials"

When the word genuine medicinal materials first appeared in Compendium of Materia Medica, now "genuine medicinal materials" mainly define the medicinal properties, essential element content, origin, climate and processing technology of medicinal materials. The producing areas of Panax notoginseng are mainly concentrated in Yunnan and Guangxi. Among the many producing areas in the two provinces, Panax notoginseng produced in Wenshan Prefecture of Yunnan, Jingxi County of Guangxi and Napo County is of good quality and is an "authentic medicinal material". The content of panax notoginseng saponins produced in Wenshan, Yunnan Province is high, so it is more popular with consumers.

4. Baked Panax notoginseng

In the article "Pharmacological Function of Panax notoginseng: Regulating Blood System", we clearly introduced the compatibility of Panax notoginseng, so when the temperature exceeds 60 degrees, the medicinal properties of Panax notoginseng will be completely denatured, and its medicinal function will be lost, and it has no therapeutic effect on external use such as hemostasis and blood stasis. However, with the price of Tianqi rising year by year, some merchants bake Tianqi in order to stock up and fry Tianqi. At this time, the cost performance of Vernon has been greatly reduced.

5. Scissors Tianqi

Cut will only appear in Tianqi and Daejeon. Although the content of panax notoginseng saponins is high, it is usually extracted from industrial medicinal materials, so its medicinal value is generally not high and its price is relatively cheap. Tianqi with scissors is called ordinary Tianqi, and Tianqi without scissors is generally called super Tianqi or special Tianqi. Tianqi with scissors is much cheaper than Tianqi without scissors. Changhong Sanqi refused Tianqi and did not wax, which is the guarantee of your peace of mind and health.

(Notoginseng is cut into sections, which are located between the main roots and aboveground stems of Notoginseng, and play the role of transporting and storing nutrients and supporting the stems and leaves. Panax notoginseng scissors store a lot of nutrients and water for the growth of aerial parts of Panax notoginseng, which is the main storage place for effective components of Panax notoginseng. The content of panax notoginseng saponins in the incision of underground part of panax notoginseng is the highest, which is widely used for industrial extraction of panax notoginseng saponins. Every year, a bud, dark green and curved like Ying Ge's mouth will grow in the section of Notoginseng. Therefore, it is commonly known as "the mouth of Ying Ge", and new stems grow from the back of "the mouth of Ying Ge". After the stem and leaf fall off, there is a pit on the node, that is, "stem mark" The longer the growth period of Panax notoginseng, the more stem marks or cut nodes, and the longer the incision, the growth period of Panax notoginseng can be judged. )

6, Tianqi cross-sectional color

Dark green and grayish green are the best, and chrysanthemum heart is the best.

7. Tianqi in spring and Tianqi in winter

The defining time of spring Tianqi and winter Tianqi is August, which is the picking season of Tianqi flowers. Tianqi dug up before August is called ChunTianqi, and vice versa. The roots of Panax notoginseng in spring are fuller, and the contents of total saponins and total flavonoids in winter are much higher than those in winter. Visually, Tianqi Dong Tian has many wrinkles and dull colors.

8. "Sanqi" and "Tianqi"

Tianqi is very famous, but many people may not know that Sanqi's alias is Tianqi, and there are other names such as mountain lacquer and ginseng. Notoginseng, generally growing in Tian Yang, Guangxi, is called Tianqi. But in fact, the origin of Sanqi is Wenshan, Yunnan. The best quality and the largest number of Panax notoginseng in the world are located in Wenshan. Now, the "Wenshan Sanqi" geographical indication certification trademark has also been approved and registered by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (the so-called geographical indication refers to a sign indicating that a commodity comes from a certain region, and its specific quality, reputation or other characteristics are mainly determined by natural factors or human factors in the region. "In addition,' Wenshan Sanqi' has achieved many achievements such as protection of origin, GAP certification and technical standards for Sanqi.

9. Appearance and color of Panax notoginseng

Panax notoginseng is round or cylindrical. Quasi-circle means that it looks like a circle, but it is not a complete circle. Because on its surface, there are often some tumor-like protrusions, wrinkles and broken roots. After simple treatment, the tumor-like protrusions on the surface are polished off and appear smooth. The color is mainly taupe or khaki. Pseudopanax notoginseng is mainly some ginger plants. After artificial carving, it is of course carved into a shape close to Sanqi. But unnaturally, there will be obvious ring knots and some artificial carving marks on the outside. The color is mainly grayish yellow.

10, the taste of panax notoginseng

Notoginseng is slightly bitter and smells comfortable close to the nose. It will give off a slightly sweet smell after being slightly bitter. If it doesn't turn into powder, take a little and taste it in your mouth. Slightly bitter and slightly sweet. Pseudonotoginseng has a pungent smell and a pungent taste.

1 1, growth period of panax notoginseng

Born in 373.

But it was fully formed in two years, so some of it was dug earlier, called two-year seven. Compared with three years, of course three years is better.

The most intuitive and simple way to distinguish is to choose according to the head. It only takes three years to grow 30 or more heads. However, after two years, there will be fewer people in their seventies and forties. So when choosing, if you don't know much, choose the big one. The size of Panax notoginseng is directly related to the price. The bigger the head, the smaller the size and the more expensive it is.

12, notoginseng flower

Sanqi is full of treasures Sanqihua is also one of the best, which not only has many functions of rhizome, but also can cool and detoxify, and can be used as tea at ordinary times.

Some people choose Sanqihua, thinking that the bigger the flower, the better, but it is not. The most important thing is whether it gets together. Is whether the flowers are tightly held together. Some are too big, but the flowers are scattered, which is the kind of time when they are on the verge of withering. The size of a flower mainly depends on its soaking time in water. Flowers that come together are often not as scattered as they seem, but when they open, they are a big flower.

Also, notoginseng flowers are divided into long handle, short handle and sessile. In fact, it is a question of whether to leave a stalk under the flower and how long to stay. The handle will not have any great influence on the quality of flowers. Flowers without stems are light in weight, and flowers with the same weight are numerous and heavy, so they are generally more expensive than flowers with stalks. On the other hand, the longer the handle, the less the number of flowers, which is relatively cheap. The part of the handle also has the same value as the flower. So it depends mainly on personal hobbies.

How to choose Sanqi?

Whether the pulverized notoginseng is high-quality normal notoginseng is the most important thing, because besides normal notoginseng, pulverized notoginseng may also be inferior notoginseng. The picture below shows the comparison between high-quality notoginseng and waxed notoginseng:

The number of panax notoginseng heads in panax notoginseng

The quality of Radix Notoginseng made of different numbers of Radix Notoginseng is different, and the Radix Notoginseng with fewer numbers of heads is better. By analogy, the fewer the number of heads, the higher the medicinal value and the better the quality. Generally speaking, 20 heads and 37 heads play Sanqi well.

What is the purpose of Panax notoginseng?

The higher the mesh number of Panax notoginseng, the finer the powder, the stronger the medicinal components and the better the quality. Generally speaking, Panax notoginseng with a mesh number of more than 200 is good and is more easily absorbed by the human body. Of course, the fineness of Notoginseng sold in the market generally reaches 200 meshes, and there are Notoginseng with 1 1,000 meshes or more.

The color of panax notoginseng.

The normal color of Panax notoginseng is yellow or light yellow. The lighter or whiter the color, the finer the notoginseng, and the better the quality. If it is dark yellow or even gray-black, it means that it is a bad notoginseng and may have deteriorated.