The US Food and Drug Administration in Jinan recently issued a warning that a few unscrupulous drug dealers in the market have over-sulfonated traditional Chinese medicines, reminding the public to improve their discrimination and be wary of traditional Chinese medicines fumigated with sulfur. It is understood that "sulfation" is a traditional ancient Chinese medicine preservation method, that is, fumigating or soaking Chinese herbal medicines with sulfur can directly kill pests inside Chinese herbal medicines, inhibit the activities of bacteria and molds, and contribute to the initial processing and storage of Chinese herbal medicines. Strictly according to the traditional ancient sulfonation method, the sulfur residue in traditional Chinese medicine is very small, and short-term consumption of a small amount will generally not cause harm to human body, but taking over-sulfonated traditional Chinese medicine has safety risks. Jinan US Food and Drug Administration warned that the purpose of over-sulfonation is not only for processing and storage, but to increase the weight of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, after sulfur fumigation, the water content of Codonopsis pilosula can be as high as 20%-30% without mildew, while the water content of medicinal materials without sulfur fumigation exceeds 15%, which means it is easy to mildew and rot. How to identify whether it has been fumigated by sulfur when buying Chinese herbal medicines or decoction pieces? Experts from the US Food and Drug Administration in Jinan reminded that the identification of Chinese herbal medicines should first look at whether the color of Chinese herbal medicines or decoction pieces after sulfur fumigation is too bright. Such as gastrodia elata, the standard is yellow-white to light brown; Lily is white, light brownish yellow or purplish. If it is white and transparent, it is the result of excessive fumigation with sulfur. Radix Astragali, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Ginseng, Radix Codonopsis, Radix Paeoniae Alba, etc. Sulfur fumigation is also commonly used to make them bright in color and sell well. In addition, Chinese herbal medicines fumigated with sulfur usually have a more sour and pungent choking taste. But for Codonopsis pilosula and Angelica sinensis, which contain a lot of sugar, the acidity is not obvious even if they are smoked with sulfur, so it is necessary to distinguish the colors. The surface of Codonopsis pilosula is yellowish brown to grayish brown, and the surface of Angelica sinensis is yellowish brown to brown. If it is obviously white, it is fumigated with sulfur. The US Food and Drug Administration in Jinan reminds citizens to go to well-known regular pharmacies or hospital pharmacies to buy Chinese herbal medicines. If you mistakenly buy Chinese herbal medicines with excessive sulfur fumigation, soaking and washing will be invalid. It's best to throw them away, so as not to harm your health. (Xinhua News Agency)