Application of membrane separation technology in traditional Chinese medicine production

Traditional Chinese medicine products include traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces, traditional Chinese medicine extracts, and traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations. Traditional Chinese medicine products have high efficiency, quick acting, and long-lasting effects; Low dosage, low toxicity, and minimal side effects; The three characteristics of being easy to store, easy to carry, and easy to take.

The traditional process of extracting traditional Chinese medicine and plants involves water extraction, alcohol precipitation, macroporous resin adsorption, evaporation, etc. The traditional process has a long cycle, high construction cost, high energy consumption, low yield, complex operating procedures, serious environmental pollution, and high cost of treating the three wastes. It has great instability in removing impurities, bacteria, and heat sources, which seriously affects the quality of the formulation; And it consumes a large amount of water, electricity, and organic solvents, resulting in increased production costs.

The integrated membrane separation technology system using filtration technology can directly clarify, grade, purify, and concentrate traditional Chinese medicine and plant water extracts, replacing secondary alcohol precipitation and resin adsorption processes. It can directly remove impurities such as shoe matter, colloids, plant fibers, macromolecular proteins, and bacteria. The permeate is clear and pure, and if membrane separation is used to concentrate the clarified solution, salt and water can be removed, resulting in high-purity concentrate.

Application of membrane separation technology in traditional Chinese medicine preparations:

Refined traditional Chinese medicine oral liquid and medicinal wine by membrane method. Traditional Chinese Medicine Oral Liquid is a new dosage form that has been vigorously developed in the healthcare industry in recent years. Due to its good therapeutic effect, fast response, and convenient administration, it has been widely praised. The original production process used the water extraction and alcohol precipitation method, which not only has a long process and high product viscosity, but also contains a large amount of impurities such as sub particles, particles, and flocs in the extraction solution. It is difficult to refine using general methods such as sedimentation, plate and frame filtration, and leaching, so the finished product is prone to precipitation after standing, which affects the appearance and quality of the oral liquid. If a membrane with corresponding molecular weight cutoff is used for ultrafiltration and then canned, it can ensure that the product has a transparent and bright appearance, improved taste, and extended shelf life. At the same time, it can simplify the production process and save costs for the enterprise.

The separation and extraction of active ingredients in traditional Chinese herbal medicine face problems such as long production cycles, large losses, and low yields in traditional production processes.

Membrane technology is increasingly being applied in the production of traditional Chinese medicine due to its high efficiency, energy saving, and green characteristics.

The application of membrane separation technology in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine production mainly includes four aspects:

(1) Sterilization and heat source removal: By using microfiltration membranes and ultrafiltration membranes, bacteria and heat sources in traditional Chinese medicine boiling extracts can be effectively removed without the need for high temperatures or other chemical methods.

(2) Clarification and purification: Ultrafiltration membrane filtration can replace alcohol precipitation, effectively remove impurities, separate and purify active ingredients, and reduce the loss of active ingredients.

(3) Concentration: Nanofiltration membrane desalination concentration, or reverse osmosis membrane direct concentration, carried out at room temperature without thermal damage, replacing evaporation concentration, with low energy consumption.

(4) Organic solvent recovery: Special membranes are used to filter the organic solvents used in alcohol precipitation extraction or other separation processes, remove impurities, purify and reduce them, and then recycle them for reuse, saving resources and reducing costs. Compared with traditional process equipment, membrane technology equipment can reduce the number of processes, be easy to operate, and have a clean, hygienic, and environmentally friendly production process.

The main process flow is as follows:

Herbal decoction → Water extraction → Micro filtration for impurity removal → Ultrafiltration purification → Finished product canned

From this, it can be seen that membrane treatment of traditional Chinese medicine oral liquids can simplify the production process, shorten the production cycle, replace traditional plate and frame filtration, diatomaceous earth filtration, etc., and effectively remove tannins, starch, resin, protein, pectin, etc. And the obtained product has significantly improved clarity, transparency, and stability. The clarity of long-term storage remains unchanged. Oral liquid no longer has sedimentation and wall hanging phenomenon.

The water extract can be filtered directly without cooling. Due to the membrane separation and removal of gelatinous substances, the viscosity of the material solution is greatly reduced during concentration, making evaporation and subsequent filtration much more convenient, shortening the time and reducing costs.

Especially for varieties that require two alcohol precipitation processes, membrane technology can replace one alcohol precipitation. Save a large amount of ethanol, greatly reduce its production cost, and also reduce the energy consumption required for ethanol recovery, shortening the production cycle.

Can maintain the ingredients of the original formula and increase the content of effective ingredients in the product. The composition of Chinese herbal medicine, whether in solid or oral form, is very complex, usually containing compounds such as alkaloids, organic acids, phenols, saponins, as well as proteins, mucilage, tannins, polysaccharides, starch, cellulose, etc. Generally speaking, non medicinal ingredients or ingredients with poor medicinal properties have large molecular weights (ranging from tens of thousands to several million daltons), while useful ingredients, namely the target products of traditional Chinese medicine, generally have smaller molecular weights, ranging from several hundred to several thousand daltons. The traditional water extraction and alcohol precipitation process cannot remove high molecular weight non medicinal components. So reducing the concentration of active ingredients (i.e. target products) in the medicine solution and increasing the dosage for patients not only brings inconvenience and pain during administration, but also makes traditional Chinese medicine prone to moisture absorption and deterioration, making it difficult to preserve. If separation technology is used, these problems can be solved by removing non medicinal ingredients, allowing patients to use less medication and improve efficacy. For enterprises, the costs of packaging, transportation, and other aspects will also decrease significantly, which can also reduce costs.

Traditional Chinese medicine injections can eliminate bacteria and heat sources without the need for high temperatures or other chemical methods. They can be administered at room temperature and have good effects, fully meeting the requirements of the pharmacopoeia. The use of ultrafiltration membrane to remove pyrogens from traditional Chinese medicine injections can shorten the production cycle and greatly improve product stability. Ultrafiltration membranes do not retain the active ingredients in the medicine solution. While removing the heat source, they can also increase the product yield accordingly, which is much superior to traditional methods such as using activated carbon and other adsorbents to adsorb and disinfect heat sources at high temperatures. The application of membrane separation technology in the heat removal of traditional Chinese medicine injection is one of the main application projects in the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry, and it is also the most promising project in the modernization of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. The introduction of small-scale membrane experimental equipment in scientific research laboratories will greatly promote the development of new varieties of traditional Chinese medicine injections.

Oil removal of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine pharmaceuticals often use alcohol precipitation technology, in which plant oils and gums that are soluble in ethanol but difficult to dissolve in water will precipitate from the medicine after alcohol evaporation. At present, the commonly used removal method is extraction using edible paraffin and other substances. This method not only requires a large amount of auxiliary materials and high costs, but also has high labor intensity and poor environmental conditions. The use of membrane technology for oil removal has good results, greatly reduces production costs, achieves automation, and improves working conditions and environment.

The separation membrane technology has a simple process, occupies less equipment space, is easy to operate, is convenient to start and stop, has low operating costs, and operates in a closed loop, making the production process clean, hygienic, and environmentally friendly.