A method for pre-treating solanum nigrum fruits

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of traditional Chinese medicine processing and production, specifically relating to a pretreatment method for black nightshade fruit. The method includes the following steps: S1. Instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation: After removing the stems from the black nightshade fruit, it is placed in a pressure difference treatment chamber for instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation; S2. Vinegar soaking: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S1 is soaked in sufficient vinegar for 1-1.5 hours; S3. Drying: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S2 is vacuum freeze-dried to a moisture content of 8-12%, yielding black nightshade fruit slices. This invention uses instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation on the black nightshade fruit, allowing the vinegar to quickly diffuse throughout the entire fruit, effectively shortening the processing time and reducing enzymatic browning reactions. Combined with vacuum freeze-drying, this improves the medicinal value of the black nightshade fruit; it effectively reduces the content of toxic substances such as solanine in the fresh fruit; it also improves the flavor of the black nightshade fruit; the dried black nightshade fruit slices are darker in color, more brittle and easily broken, and the aroma changes from a fishy-sweet to a sweet-sour.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of traditional Chinese medicine processing and production, and specifically relates to a pretreatment method for black nightshade fruit. Background Technology

[0002] Black nightshade fruit, derived from the dried, nearly mature fruit of *Solanum nigrum* L. (family Solanaceae), has a long history of use in my country, first recorded in the Tang Dynasty text *Treatise on the Nature of Medicinal Herbs*, where it was referred to as "black nightshade seed." Black nightshade is bitter, slightly sour and sweet, and cold in nature; it is slightly toxic. It enters the lung, liver, and stomach meridians. It possesses the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and dissipating nodules, reducing inflammation and promoting diuresis, and generating fluids and quenching thirst. It is used for febrile bronchitis, pharyngitis, gastritis, hepatitis, urinary tract infections, dysuria, tumors, and other ailments. It is recorded in mainstream herbal texts throughout history and continues to be used today. The whole plant (including the fruit) is included in the *Sichuan Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine* (2010); the fruit is included in the *Guangdong Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicine*, the *Drug Standards of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China* (Uyghur Medicine Volume, 1999 edition), and the *Chinese Pharmacopoeia* (1977 edition).

[0003] With the deepening of modern research on black nightshade, it has been widely used in various fields in recent years. For example, it is consumed as a vegetable and fruit, processed into black nightshade wine, fruit vinegar, chewing gum, food coloring, etc., and developed into products such as mouthwash and toothpaste. In agriculture, it is also widely used in soil remediation and organic pest control of crops. In the medical field, black nightshade cough syrup, made from concentrated black nightshade juice, can stop coughing, relieve asthma, and eliminate phlegm, and is used to treat acute or chronic bronchitis. Black nightshade tablets have a significant therapeutic effect on primary liver cancer. The compound preparation of black nightshade and white nightshade has an inhibitory effect on human gastric cancer cells, etc.

[0004] The vinegar-processing of Chinese medicinal herbs has a long history. The earliest record of vinegar processing can be found in the *Fifty-Two Prescriptions* from the Warring States period: "Soak *Shanglao* (pokeweed) in vinegar." Subsequent works such as *Treatise on Febrile Diseases*, *Lei Gong*, and *Compendium of Materia Medica* also frequently mention methods of vinegar processing for Chinese herbs. The earliest record of vinegar processing for *Solanum nigrum* (black nightshade) appears in the Song Dynasty's *Illustrated Materia Medica*: "Finely grind *Solanum nigrum* in vinegar to treat infantile erysipelas, reduce redness and swelling. It replenishes the vital energy of men, treats blood disorders in women, clears heat, disperses stagnation, and suppresses the poison of erysipelas." This indicates that vinegar can mitigate the bitter and cold properties of *Solanum nigrum*, which aligns with modern research finding that vinegar can react with the alkaloids of *Solanum nigrum* to form salts, thus reducing its toxicity. Traditional vinegar processing methods include vinegar soaking, vinegar steaming, vinegar boiling, vinegar simmering, and vinegar extraction.

[0005] However, for a long time, the processing of vinegar-processed black nightshade slices has been based on the experience of local TCM practitioners, lacking relevant standards. In March 2023, the Sichuan Provincial Drug Administration released the "Vinegar-Processed Black Nightshade Fruit" standard (SCYPBZ2023-001) proposed by the applicant, filling a gap in this field. This standard specifies the processing method for vinegar-processed black nightshade fruit: Take clean black nightshade fruit, moisten it for 3 hours according to the vinegar steaming method (General Rule 0213), steam for 2 hours, and then dry. Use 6 kg of vinegar for every 20 kg of black nightshade fruit.

[0006] However, the above-mentioned processing technology is quite complicated, and according to the applicant's test, the chlorogenic acid content in the product is significantly lower than that in the fresh fruit. According to literature, chlorogenic acid has antibacterial and antiviral effects and is a potential efficacy marker for clearing heat and detoxifying. The loss of chlorogenic acid will reduce the medicinal value of the black nightshade fruit slices.

[0007] Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new method for processing black nightshade fruit to reduce the loss of chlorogenic acid during the processing of black nightshade and further improve the medicinal value of the processed slices. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings and provide a method for processing black nightshade fruit, thereby shortening the processing time of black nightshade fruit slices and increasing the chlorogenic acid content in black nightshade fruit slices.

[0009] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0010] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit includes the following steps:

[0011] S1. Instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation: After removing the stems from the black nightshade fruits, place them in a pressure difference treatment chamber for instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment;

[0012] S2. Vinegar soaking: Place the black nightshade fruit obtained in step S1 in sufficient vinegar and let it soak for 1-1.5 hours;

[0013] S3. Drying: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S2 is freeze-dried under vacuum to obtain black nightshade fruit slices with a moisture content of 8-12%.

[0014] Furthermore, in step S1, the black nightshade fruit is a freshly picked, nearly mature fruit.

[0015] Furthermore, in step S1, the specific operation of the instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment is as follows: hot steam is introduced into the pressure difference treatment chamber, and when the pressure inside the pressure difference treatment chamber reaches 0.3-0.6MPa and the temperature reaches 140-150℃, it is maintained for 30-60s, and then the pressure is quickly released to reduce the pressure inside the chamber to 0.005-0.01MPa.

[0016] Furthermore, in step S1, the instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment is repeated 2-3 times.

[0017] Furthermore, in step S2, the vinegar is the vinegar specified in the General Rules for Processing in Part IV of the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, specifically in section 0213.

[0018] Furthermore, in step S2, the concentration of acetic acid in the vinegar is 3.5-5g / 100ml.

[0019] Furthermore, in step S3, the temperature of the vacuum freeze-drying is -40 to -70°C.

[0020] The present invention also provides the application of the black nightshade fruit slices obtained by the above pretreatment method in traditional Chinese medicine preparations.

[0021] Instantaneous pressure difference flash drying, also known as variable temperature pressure difference puffing drying, is a newly emerging textural reforming technology. Its principle involves the material undergoing an instantaneous transition from high pressure to low pressure within an expansion tank. This causes the moisture inside the material to vaporize rapidly, and the expansion force of the gas drives the structural denaturation of high-molecular-weight substances within the tissue, resulting in a porous material with a network structure. Currently, instantaneous pressure difference flash drying technology is widely used in the processing of fruit and vegetable raw materials.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0023] 1. The present invention uses instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation to treat black nightshade fruit, which destroys its tissue structure and loses most of its moisture in the process. This is beneficial for the subsequent vinegar soaking, which allows the vinegar to quickly diffuse into the entire interior of the black nightshade fruit. Therefore, vinegar processing of black nightshade fruit can be achieved without further vinegar steaming, effectively shortening the processing time.

[0024] 2. The loss of chlorogenic acid in black nightshade fruit can be attributed to enzymatic browning reaction. This invention uses instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment. Under high temperature steam, the polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase in black nightshade fruit are instantly deactivated, thereby reducing the enzymatic browning reaction. Combined with vacuum freeze drying, the loss of chlorogenic acid in black nightshade fruit is significantly reduced, resulting in a higher chlorogenic acid content in the processed slices and improving the medicinal value of black nightshade fruit.

[0025] 3. This invention effectively reduces the content of toxic substances such as solanine in fresh fruit, ensuring the safety of subsequent medicinal use; at the same time, it also improves the flavor of black nightshade fruit. Compared with the raw product, the dried black nightshade fruit slices are darker in color, more brittle and easier to break, and the aroma changes from fishy-sweet to sour-sweet, while also improving its bitter and cold properties. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 The black nightshade fruit slices obtained by the pretreatment method of this invention;

[0027] Figure 2 Microscopic feature image of the black nightshade fruit powder obtained by the pretreatment method of the present invention;

[0028] In the diagram, 1 is the seed epidermis, 2 is the epidermal cells of the exocarp, 3 is the spiral vascular bundle, 4 is the seed epidermal cells, 5 is the calcium oxalate sand crystal, and 6 is the oil droplet. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the following description.

[0030] Black nightshade is widely distributed in my country and has a long fruiting period. However, there may be differences in the quality of black nightshade harvested from different regions and at different times. Therefore, this invention conducted experiments on multiple batches of harvested black nightshade, and the test results were taken as the average of each batch. Information on the black nightshade samples is shown in Table 1 below.

[0031] Table 1

[0032]

[0033]

[0034] Example 1

[0035] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit includes the following steps:

[0036] S1. Instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation: After removing the stems from freshly picked nearly mature black nightshade fruits, place them in a pressure difference treatment chamber for instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment;

[0037] The specific operation is as follows: hot steam is introduced into the differential pressure treatment chamber. When the pressure inside the chamber reaches 0.3 MPa and the temperature reaches 135℃, it is maintained for 60 seconds. Then, the pressure is quickly released to reduce the pressure inside the chamber to 0.01 MPa. This process is repeated twice.

[0038] S2. Vinegar soaking: Place the black nightshade fruit obtained in step S1 in sufficient vinegar and let it soak for 1.2 hours;

[0039] The vinegar in question is the vinegar specified in the General Processing Rules 0213 of Part IV of the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the acetic acid concentration in the vinegar is 3.5-5g / 100ml.

[0040] S3. Drying: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S2 is freeze-dried under vacuum at -50°C until the moisture content is about 10% to obtain black nightshade fruit slices.

[0041] Example 2

[0042] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit includes the following steps:

[0043] S1. Instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation: After removing the stems from freshly picked nearly mature black nightshade fruits, place them in a pressure difference treatment chamber for instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment;

[0044] The specific operation is as follows: hot steam is introduced into the differential pressure treatment chamber. When the pressure inside the chamber reaches 0.6 MPa and the temperature reaches 150°C, it is maintained for 30 seconds. Then, the pressure is quickly released to reduce the pressure inside the chamber to 0.01 MPa. This process is repeated 3 times.

[0045] S2. Vinegar soaking: Place the black nightshade fruit obtained in step S1 in sufficient vinegar and soak for 1 hour;

[0046] The vinegar in question is the vinegar specified in the General Processing Rules 0213 of Part IV of the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the acetic acid concentration in the vinegar is 3.5-5g / 100ml.

[0047] S3. Drying: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S2 is freeze-dried under vacuum at -50°C until the moisture content is about 10% to obtain black nightshade fruit slices.

[0048] Comparative Example 1

[0049] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit involves removing the stems from freshly picked, nearly mature black nightshade fruit, processing it according to the method in standard SCYPBZ2023-001 "Vinegar Black Nightshade Fruit", and then placing the resulting vinegar-processed black nightshade fruit in an oven and drying it at 60°C until the moisture content is about 10%.

[0050] Comparative Example 2

[0051] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit involves removing the stems from freshly harvested, nearly mature black nightshade fruit, processing it according to the method in standard SCYPBZ2023-001 "Vinegar Black Nightshade Fruit", and then freeze-drying the resulting vinegar-treated black nightshade fruit under vacuum at -50°C until the moisture content is about 10%.

[0052] Comparative Example 3

[0053] A method for pre-treating black nightshade fruit involves removing the stems from freshly harvested, nearly mature black nightshade fruit, treating it with superheated steam at 135°C under normal pressure for 60 seconds, then processing it according to the method in standard SCYPBZ2023-001 "Vinegar Black Nightshade Fruit", and finally freeze-drying the resulting vinegar black nightshade fruit under vacuum at -50°C until the moisture content is about 10%.

[0054] Comparative Example 4

[0055] A pretreatment method for black nightshade fruit involves removing the stems from freshly picked, nearly mature black nightshade fruit, treating it with superheated steam at 135°C for 60 seconds, soaking the resulting black nightshade fruit in sufficient vinegar for 1.2 hours, and then freeze-drying it until the moisture content is about 10%.

[0056] Upon examination, in the above examples, the processed black nightshade fruit slices obtained in Examples 1 and 2, and Comparative Examples 1-3, compared to the raw product, were darker in color, more brittle and easily broken, and their aroma changed from a fishy-sweet to a sour-sweet, indicating successful processing. The product obtained in Comparative Example 4 showed no significant difference in appearance from the dried raw product, indicating processing failure.

[0057] The various indicators of the dried fruit prepared from black nightshade fruit vinegar in the above embodiments and comparative examples (except for Comparative Example 4) were tested, and the results are shown in Table 3. Among them, the method for determining moisture content is the same as that in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (General Chapter 0832, Method II), the method for determining total ash content is the same as that in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (General Chapter 2302), the method for determining extractives is the same as that in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (General Chapter 2201), the method for determining chlorogenic acid is high performance liquid chromatography (General Chapter 0512), and the method for determining solanine is ultraviolet spectrophotometry.

[0058] Table 3

[0059]

[0060]

[0061] The black nightshade fruit slices obtained by this invention can be directly used in combination with other drugs, which effectively shortens the process compared with the prior art. Moreover, compared with the comparative example, the solution of this invention effectively reduces the loss of chlorogenic acid and further improves the medicinal value.

[0062] The prepared black nightshade fruit slices obtained in this invention were subjected to microscopic identification with reference to the 1999 edition of the Uyghur Medicine Volume of the "Drug Standards of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China" and the 2013 edition of the "Standards for Traditional Chinese Medicines of Guangdong Province". The results are as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the surface view of the pericarp epidermal cells is mostly polygonal with slightly thick walls, some slightly beaded, and the outer periphery has horny texture. The surface view of the seed coat epidermal stone cells is irregularly polygonal with thick walls, deeply wavy, and clearly defined layers. Calcium oxalate sand crystals are common. Oil droplets and spiral vessels are visible.

[0063] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the forms disclosed herein and should not be construed as excluding other embodiments. It can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments, and can be altered within the scope of the concept described herein through the above teachings or related technologies or knowledge. Modifications and variations made by those skilled in the art that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be within the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for pre-treating solanum muricatum, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation: After removing the stems from the black nightshade fruits, they are placed in a pressure difference treatment chamber for instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment. The specific operation of the instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment is as follows: hot steam is introduced into the pressure difference treatment chamber. When the pressure inside the pressure difference treatment chamber reaches 0.3-0.6MPa and the temperature reaches 135-150℃, it is maintained for 30-60s, and then the pressure is quickly released to reduce the pressure inside the chamber to 0.005-0.01MPa. S2. Vinegar soaking: Place the black nightshade fruit obtained in step S1 in sufficient vinegar and let it soak for 1-1.5 hours; S3. Drying: The black nightshade fruit obtained in step S2 is freeze-dried under vacuum to obtain black nightshade fruit slices with a moisture content of 8-12%. The temperature of the vacuum freeze-drying is -40-70℃.

2. The method for pretreatment of black nightshade fruit according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the black nightshade fruit is a freshly picked, nearly mature fruit.

3. The method for pretreatment of black nightshade fruit according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the instantaneous pressure difference flash evaporation treatment is repeated 2-3 times.

4. The method for pretreatment of black nightshade fruit according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the vinegar is the vinegar specified in the General Rules for Processing in Part IV of the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, specifically in section 0213.

5. The method of pre-treating mulberry fruit according to claim 1, wherein, In step S2, the acetic acid concentration in the vinegar is 3.5-5 g / 100 ml.

6. The use of the black nightshade fruit slices obtained by the pretreatment method according to any one of claims 1-5 in the preparation of traditional Chinese medicine preparations.

Images