Drying case of Polygonatum odoratum slices

Polygonatum odoratum is a common Chinese medicinal material with the effects of nourishing yin, moistening dryness, promoting body fluid and quenching thirst. Fresh Polygonatum odoratum has a high water content and is not easy to preserve, so it needs to be dried and processed into Polygonatum odoratum slices for long-term storage and transportation. Jinlu Machinery takes the drying process of Polygonatum odoratum slices in a Chinese medicinal material processing plant as an example to introduce its process flow and key control points.

1.Processing process

Raw material pretreatment

Cleaning: Fresh Polygonatum odoratum is rinsed with running water to remove mud and impurities.

Slicing: Use a slicer to cut Polygonatum odoratum into uniform slices of 3-5mm to ensure uniform drying.

Drying process

Drying equipment: Use air energy heat pump drying room, which has controllable temperature and is energy-saving and efficient.

Drying parameters:

First stage (low temperature dehydration): set the temperature to 50℃, humidity to 60%, and bake for 2 hours to remove surface moisture.

Second stage (medium temperature drying): raise the temperature to 60℃, humidity to 40%, and bake for 4 hours to further evaporate the moisture.

The third stage (high temperature setting): the temperature rises to 65℃, the humidity is 20%, and the slices are baked for 2 hours to ensure that the slices are completely dry.

Turning and adjustment: turn the slices every 1 hour during the drying process to avoid adhesion and ensure uniform heating.

Cooling and packaging

The dried slices need to be cooled to room temperature in a ventilated place to avoid moisture resurgence. Packed in food-grade sealed bags and stored in a cool and dry place.

2.Drying effect

Moisture content: The moisture content of the dried slices is ≤12%, which meets the standards of the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”.

Appearance quality: The slices are complete, light yellow in color, without burnt or mildew.

Efficacy retention: The loss rate of active ingredients (polysaccharides, sterols, etc.) is <5%, and the quality is excellent.

3.Benefit analysis

Energy saving and environmental protection: Compared with traditional coal-fired drying, heat pump drying saves 40% energy and is pollution-free.

Economic benefits: 500kg of fresh radix polygonati can be processed in each batch, the finished product rate reaches 90%, and the market price is increased by 30%.

Storage period: After drying, the radix polygonati officinalis slices can be stored for more than 12 months to reduce losses.

4.Experience summary

Temperature control is the key: too high will cause the radix polygonati officinalis slices to be charred, and too low will extend the drying time.

Evenly spread: the radix polygonati officinalis slices need to be laid flat in a single layer to avoid stacking that affects the drying efficiency.

Equipment maintenance: Clean the filter in the drying room regularly to ensure smooth circulation of hot air.

5.Promotion and application

This drying process is suitable for all kinds of rhizome Chinese medicinal materials (such as polygonatum, lily, etc.) and has a high industry reference value. Enterprises can adjust equipment configuration according to production scale to further improve the degree of automation.