Low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for traditional Chinese medicinal materials

Abstract

The invention relates to a low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for traditional Chinese medicinal materials, which comprises the following steps: cleaning and drying: cleaning the traditional Chinese medicinal materials, cleaning necrotic parts, and drying the cleaned traditional Chinese medicinal materials; disinfection treatment, wherein ultraviolet rays and ozone are adopted for surface disinfection; treating the medicinal materials and eggs, and freezing the treated medicinal materials in an environment of-18 DEG C or below so as to kill eggs and larvae; sub-packaging the medicinal materials: loading the frozen medicinal materials into a high-barrier composite packaging bag, and sequentially carrying out vacuumizing and nitrogen charging operations; according to the method, the medicinal materials are subjected to subzero treatment at the temperature below-18 DEG C before being put in storage, worm eggs, larvae and part of fungal spores attached to the interiors and the surfaces of the medicinal materials can be thoroughly killed, the worm eggs are fundamentally eliminated, a high-barrier composite packaging material is combined with an iron-based deoxidizing agent, and a dual anti-oxidation system with static barrier and dynamic deoxidization is formed; the oxidative degradation of active ingredients such as volatile oil, flavone and saponin in the medicinal materials is obviously delayed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of bridge pier repair technology, specifically a method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. Background Technology

[0002] If Chinese medicinal herbs are not stored properly after harvesting and processing, they are highly susceptible to problems such as moisture absorption, insect infestation, mold, oil seepage, discoloration, and degradation of active ingredients, seriously affecting their quality and clinical efficacy. Therefore, safe, stable, and long-lasting storage techniques are crucial for ensuring the quality of Chinese medicinal herbs. Traditional storage methods, such as sulfur fumigation and chemical treatment (aluminum phosphide), while offering some insect-proofing effects, pose serious safety risks, easily leading to toxic residues and affecting medication safety. Their use is strictly restricted by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Currently, commonly used storage methods for Chinese medicinal herbs in the industry mainly include ambient temperature drying, chemical insect control, low-temperature refrigeration, and physical preservation technologies developed in recent years such as modified atmosphere packaging, vacuum packaging, and light-proof packaging. Despite the application of various technologies, problems such as poor safety, incomplete insect control, and limited shelf life still exist. For example, patent number CN104495007A discloses a method for storing Chinese medicinal herbs using microcrystalline glass containers. This method involves placing the herbs in sealed microcrystalline glass containers and then storing them in a temperature- and humidity-controlled warehouse to achieve the effects of moisture prevention, light protection, and inhibition of microbial growth. Patent number CN105644948A proposes a technology for preserving, preventing spoilage, and preventing insects in Chinese medicinal herbs. This method uses black plastic bags for light-proof vacuum packaging and places a desiccant inside the bags to create a dark, dry, and low-oxygen environment, thus delaying the deterioration of the herbs. This method is inexpensive (the storage cost is only 0.05–0.10 yuan per kilogram) and can achieve a storage period of 2–5 years, solving the problems of mold and oxidation to a certain extent.

[0003] Existing methods for storing Chinese medicinal herbs are weak in killing insect eggs and dormant pests. Vacuum sealing only inhibits but does not kill insect eggs. Once the packaging is damaged or the seal fails, the remaining insect eggs can quickly hatch and reproduce under suitable conditions. This neglects the effective removal of the initial biological load and relies too much on post-construction environmental control. As a result, even if there are no abnormalities in the short term, sudden quality accidents may occur in the middle and later stages of storage. Furthermore, in long-term storage, there is a high dependence on airtight and antioxidant packaging, which makes the stability of the shelf life easily affected. Based on this, we propose a low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for Chinese medicinal herbs to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for Chinese medicinal materials. This method can kill insect eggs in the initial stage and enhance the insect-proof effect through low temperature and nitrogen filling. It solves the problems of existing Chinese medicinal material storage methods having weak killing ability for insect eggs and dormant pests, and having a high dependence on airtight and antioxidant packaging during long-term storage.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, comprising the following steps: S1. Cleaning and drying: Clean the Chinese medicinal materials and remove any necrotic parts. After cleaning, dry the Chinese medicinal materials. S2. Disinfection treatment: Surface disinfection is carried out using ultraviolet light and ozone. S3. Processing medicinal materials and insect eggs: Freeze the processed medicinal materials in an environment below -18℃ to kill insect eggs and larvae. S4. Packaging of medicinal materials: The frozen medicinal materials are packed into high-barrier composite packaging bags, and vacuuming and nitrogen filling are performed in sequence to ensure that the oxygen concentration inside the packaging bag is ≤3%; S5. Sealed packaging: After adding deoxidizer and oxygen indicator card inside the packaging bag, heat seal it. S6. Storage: The sealed medicinal materials shall be stored in a constant temperature and humidity environment with a temperature of 2-6℃ and a relative humidity of 50%-65% for a long period of time. S7. Storage environment management: Throughout the storage process, wireless sensors distributed in each storage location are used to monitor temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration in real time, and the data is transmitted to the cloud management platform for visualization and abnormal warning.

[0006] It is important to note that in step S3, the freezing treatment below -18°C is not only a cooling process, but also a crucial step in the physical killing of insects. The low temperature causes the water inside the insect eggs to freeze, producing tiny ice crystals that damage the cell membrane structure, thus achieving irreversible inactivation. This effect cannot be achieved by simply using room temperature or ordinary refrigeration. The “vacuuming-nitrogen purging cycle” in step S4 is not simply venting the gas, but rather significantly improving the purity of nitrogen through multiple replacements. The first vacuuming can remove about 90% of the air, the second nitrogen purging can reduce the residual oxygen to less than 5%, and the third operation can reduce it to less than 3%, ensuring the stability of the low-oxygen environment.

[0007] Furthermore, the drying process involves natural air drying or low-temperature drying to reduce the moisture content of the medicinal materials to ≤13%, thereby reducing microbial activity and preventing clumping and adhesion.

[0008] Furthermore, the wavelength of the light source used for ultraviolet disinfection is 250–260 nm, and the irradiation time is 5–30 minutes; the ozone concentration for ozone disinfection is 20–100 mg / m³. 3The treatment time is 10 to 60 minutes. After treatment, ventilation is used to remove residual ozone and reduce the number of initial colonies on the surface.

[0009] Furthermore, the freezing temperature is -18℃ to -25℃, and the freezing time is 24 to 72 hours, to ensure that the cell structure of the insect eggs is broken and inactivated due to the formation of ice crystals.

[0010] Furthermore, the high-barrier composite packaging bag is made of aluminum-plastic composite film, aluminized film, or multilayer co-extruded film containing EVOH / SiOx coating, with an oxygen permeability (OTR) ≤ 5 cm⁻¹. 3 / (m 2 It has excellent oxygen barrier, moisture barrier and puncture resistance properties (24h·0.1MPa).

[0011] It is important to note that high-barrier composite packaging bags not only require excellent oxygen barrier properties, but also a certain level of mechanical strength to prevent them from being torn by sharp objects or perforated by pressure during warehousing and handling.

[0012] Furthermore, the vacuuming operation pressure is not lower than -0.08MPa, the nitrogen used has a purity of ≥99.5%, and the nitrogen filling process is repeated 1 to 3 times to improve the oxygen replacement efficiency and ensure that the residual oxygen content in the bag is stably controlled below 3%.

[0013] Furthermore, the oxygen absorber is an iron-based oxygen absorber, packaged in a breathable paper bag. 0.5 to 2g of oxygen absorber is used per 500g of medicinal materials to continuously absorb trace amounts of infiltrated oxygen and extend the effective life of the packaging.

[0014] It is important to note that the role of oxygen absorbers is to compensate for the slow oxygen permeation caused by micro-leakage of packaging materials. Even if the packaging itself has a low OTR, a small amount of oxygen will still seep in during storage for several years. Oxygen absorbers can continuously remove this oxygen, which is equivalent to building a "dynamic oxygen removal barrier" and significantly extending the effective shelf life.

[0015] A low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage system for Chinese medicinal materials includes a pretreatment unit, a freezing and insecticidal device, a modified atmosphere packaging unit, a packaging device, a constant temperature and humidity cold storage, and a monitoring terminal. The pretreatment unit is used to complete the cleaning, drying, and surface sterilization of medicinal materials using ultraviolet light and ozone. The freezing and insecticidal device is a deep-freeze refrigerator or a tunnel-type quick-freeze machine, which can achieve low-temperature treatment below -18℃; Modified atmosphere packaging units include a vacuum pump, a nitrogen input interface, a heat sealing mechanism, and an online oxygen concentration detector; Packaging equipment is used for heat sealing of high-barrier composite packaging bags; The constant temperature and humidity cold storage is equipped with a ventilation system and an automatic temperature and humidity control device, with a temperature control range of 2 to 6℃ and a humidity control range of 50% to 65%RH. The monitoring system includes multiple distributed temperature and humidity sensors, oxygen sensors, RFID readers, wireless communication gateways, cloud servers, and user terminals, used for real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and anomaly alarms.

[0016] Furthermore, the monitoring terminal is equipped with preset alarm thresholds. When the temperature is detected to be greater than 6.5℃ or the relative humidity is greater than 65%, a local audible and visual alarm is automatically triggered and a mobile notification is sent to the management personnel.

[0017] It is important to note that the monitoring system operates as follows: sensor nodes periodically collect environmental parameters (e.g., every 30 minutes), transmit them wirelessly to the gateway via LoRa / Wi-Fi, and then upload them to the cloud platform. The system is configured with a three-level early warning mechanism. Yellow alert (slight deviation): Push notification reminding you to check; Orange alert (obvious abnormality): Activate audible and visual alarms and send SMS notifications; Red alert (severe exceedance): Automatically close the warehouse door and suspend outbound operations to prevent the spread of contamination.

[0018] Furthermore, each batch of medicinal materials is equipped with an RFID tag or QR code to record the name of the medicinal material, place of origin, batch number, processing date, warehousing time and processing parameters, so as to achieve full-process information traceability.

[0019] The above-mentioned medicinal materials for storage are varieties that are prone to insect infestation or rich in sugars and starches. They are selected from at least one or more of the following: Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, Atractylodes macrocephala, Lycium barbarum, Rehmannia glutinosa, Panax ginseng, American ginseng, Ligusticum chuanxiong, and Adenophora stricta. After being stored for 24 to 60 months using this method, the medicinal materials show no visible insect infestation or mold, and the retention rate of the main active ingredients is ≥90%.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of this application has the following beneficial effects: 1. The low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for this Chinese medicinal material involves deep freezing treatment at -18℃ or below before the medicinal material is put into storage, which can completely kill insect eggs, larvae and some fungal spores attached to the inside and surface of the medicinal material, thus eliminating insect eggs from the root. 2. The low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for this Chinese medicinal material adopts a high-barrier composite packaging material combined with an iron-based deoxidizer to form a dual antioxidant system of static barrier and dynamic deoxygenation. This significantly delays the oxidative degradation of active ingredients such as volatile oils, flavonoids, and saponins in the medicinal material, so that the retention rate of the main active ingredients can still reach more than 90% within 5 years, thus improving the stability and reliability of long-term storage. 3. The low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for this Chinese medicinal material integrates a distributed wireless sensor network and a cloud management platform to achieve real-time monitoring and intelligent early warning of the storage environment's temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration around the clock. In the event of abnormalities such as packaging damage, refrigeration unit failure, or oxygen rebound, the system can locate and respond immediately, greatly reducing the risk of quality accidents caused by human negligence. 4. The low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for this Chinese medicinal material does not require the use of sulfur fumigation or chemical pesticides throughout the entire process, leaving no toxic residues. It is green, environmentally friendly, and safer, making it particularly suitable for the high-standard storage needs of precious and rare medicinal materials, export medicinal materials, and raw materials for children's medicines. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] This embodiment describes a method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, comprising the following steps: S1. Cleaning and drying: Clean the Chinese medicinal materials and remove any necrotic parts. After cleaning, dry the Chinese medicinal materials by air drying or low-temperature drying until the moisture content of the Chinese medicinal materials is reduced to ≤13%. S2. Disinfection treatment: Surface disinfection is performed using ultraviolet light and ozone. The wavelength of the light source used for ultraviolet disinfection is 250–260 nm, and the irradiation time is 5–30 minutes. The ozone concentration for ozone disinfection is 20–100 mg / m³. 3 The treatment time is 10 to 60 minutes, and residual ozone is removed by ventilation after treatment. S3. Treat the medicinal materials and insect eggs. Place the treated medicinal materials in an environment below -18℃ to freeze them in order to kill the insect eggs and larvae. The freezing temperature is -18℃ to -25℃ and the freezing time is 24 to 72 hours. S4. Packaging of medicinal materials: The frozen medicinal materials are packed into high-barrier composite packaging bags, and vacuuming and nitrogen filling operations are performed in sequence. The high-barrier composite packaging bags are made of aluminum-plastic composite film, aluminized film or multi-layer co-extruded film with EVOH / SiOx coating, so that the oxygen concentration in the packaging bag is ≤3%, the vacuuming pressure is not lower than -0.08MPa, the purity of the nitrogen gas used is ≥99.5%, and the nitrogen filling process is repeated 1 to 3 times to improve the oxygen replacement efficiency. S5. Sealed packaging: After adding an oxygen absorber and an oxygen indicator card into the packaging bag, heat seal it. The oxygen absorber is an iron-based oxygen absorber, sealed in a breathable paper bag. Use 0.5 to 2g of oxygen absorber per 500g of medicinal materials. S6. Storage: The sealed medicinal materials shall be stored in a constant temperature and humidity environment with a temperature of 2-6℃ and a relative humidity of 50%-65% for a long period of time. S7. Storage environment management: Throughout the storage process, wireless sensors distributed in each storage location are used to monitor temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration in real time, and the data is transmitted to the cloud management platform for visualization and abnormal warning.

[0023] It should be noted that the low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage method for Chinese medicinal materials is not a simple superposition of steps, but a technical closed loop built on the quality control concept of front-end source elimination, mid-term blocking, and post-end monitoring. Each link supports each other, progresses step by step, and none can be omitted. In step S1, controlling the moisture content of Chinese medicinal materials to ≤13% is a key prerequisite for ensuring the effectiveness of subsequent freezing, modified atmosphere storage, and long-term storage. If the moisture content of the medicinal materials is too high, it will not only easily lead to the growth of microorganisms, but also form large ice crystals during the freezing process, which will damage the tissue structure of the medicinal materials and affect the stability of the active ingredients. At the same time, a high humidity environment will accelerate the oxygen permeation rate inside the packaging and reduce the efficiency of the deoxidizer. Therefore, low-temperature drying (rather than high-temperature rapid drying) can achieve uniform dehydration while avoiding the degradation of heat-sensitive components, which is especially suitable for medicinal materials rich in polysaccharides such as Angelica sinensis and Astragalus membranaceus. Step S2 uses a combination of ultraviolet light and ozone for disinfection, which has a synergistic effect: ultraviolet light mainly acts on the surface DNA, killing attached mold spores and bacteria, but there are blind spots in the irradiation. Ozone, on the other hand, is a gas molecule that can diffuse into the gaps and depressions of the medicinal materials, making up for the blind spots of ultraviolet irradiation. The combination of the two can significantly reduce the initial bioburden and prevent the risk of early mold growth caused by storing bacteria in the warehouse. After treatment, the residual ozone is removed by forced ventilation, which not only ensures the safety of the operators, but also avoids damage to the active ingredients of the medicinal materials (such as volatile oils and flavonoids) caused by oxidizing gases. The deep cryogenic treatment in step S3 (-18℃~-25℃, 24~72 hours) is not only a cooling process, but also the core means of physical insecticidal treatment. In this temperature range, the free water in the insect eggs freezes to form tiny ice crystals, which pierce the cell membrane and mitochondrial structure, causing irreversible damage. Experiments show that the mortality rate of insect eggs is about 60% after freezing for only 12 hours, while it can be increased to more than 99% after freezing for more than 48 hours. For precious medicinal materials such as ginseng and wolfberry, it is recommended to use 72 hours of freezing to ensure complete inactivation of deep-layer insect eggs. Step S4 employs a "vacuuming-nitrogen filling" cycle, which cannot be completed in a single evacuation. The initial vacuuming removes up to about 90% of the air, but the residual oxygen level may still be higher than 10%. Through two or even three replacements, the oxygen concentration inside the bag can be gradually reduced to below 3%. The nitrogen used has a purity of ≥99.5% to avoid introducing impurities (such as oxygen and moisture) that could affect the stability of the low-oxygen environment. The high-barrier composite packaging bag uses aluminum-plastic composite film, aluminized film, or materials containing EVOH / SiOx coating, with an oxygen permeability (OTR) ≤5 cm⁻¹. 3 / (m 2 ·24h·0.1MPa), far superior to ordinary PE or PP bags (OTR>1000), effectively delaying the slow penetration of external oxygen and ensuring long-term sealing performance; Adding an iron-based oxygen absorber in step S5 is a powerful supplement to high-barrier packaging. Even with high-quality packaging materials, trace amounts of oxygen may still permeate or leak due to micro-vibrations during storage for several years. The oxygen absorber actively absorbs this permeated oxygen, effectively creating a dynamic oxygen removal barrier and maintaining a long-term oxygen-deficient state inside the bag. Use 0.5–2g of oxygen absorber per 500g of medicinal materials, adjusting the dosage based on the respiration rate of the medicinal materials, packaging volume, and expected storage period: the lower limit can be used for short-term storage (<2 years), while the upper limit is recommended for strategic reserves (>3 years). The oxygen indicator card provides a visual basis for judgment; once the color changes from pink to blue (or changes according to the model), it indicates that the packaging has failed and needs to be dealt with promptly. The constant temperature and humidity environment design in step S6 aims to avoid condensation caused by temperature fluctuations. If the temperature control of the cold storage is unstable, water droplets are easily condensed on the surface of the medicinal materials when they are taken out from the low temperature, which leads to local moisture absorption and mold growth. Setting the temperature to 2-6℃ can inhibit the activity of pests and microorganisms without excessive energy consumption. The relative humidity is controlled at 50%-65%RH to prevent the medicinal materials from excessively losing water and cracking or absorbing moisture and softening. It is especially suitable for varieties that are prone to moisture absorption, such as Codonopsis pilosula and Atractylodes macrocephala.

[0024] A low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage system for Chinese medicinal materials includes a pretreatment unit, a freezing and insecticidal device, a modified atmosphere packaging unit, a packaging device, a constant temperature and humidity cold storage, and a monitoring terminal. The pretreatment unit is used to complete the cleaning, drying, and surface sterilization of medicinal materials using ultraviolet light and ozone. The freezing and insecticidal device is a deep-freeze refrigerator or a tunnel-type quick-freeze machine, which can achieve low-temperature treatment below -18℃; Modified atmosphere packaging units include a vacuum pump, a nitrogen input interface, a heat sealing mechanism, and an online oxygen concentration detector; Packaging equipment is used for heat sealing of high-barrier composite packaging bags; The constant temperature and humidity cold storage is equipped with a ventilation system and an automatic temperature and humidity control device, with a temperature control range of 2 to 6℃ and a humidity control range of 50% to 65%RH. The monitoring terminal includes multiple distributed temperature and humidity sensors, oxygen sensors, RFID readers, wireless communication gateways, cloud servers, and user terminals, used for real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and anomaly alarms. The monitoring terminal has preset alarm thresholds. When the detected temperature is >6.5℃ or relative humidity is >65%, it automatically triggers a local audible and visual alarm and sends a mobile notification to the management personnel.

[0025] It should be noted that the low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage system for Chinese medicinal materials is not a collection of independent equipment, but an intelligent integrated system that integrates pretreatment, processing, packaging, storage and monitoring. The various units achieve efficient linkage through standardized interfaces and data links. The pretreatment unit adopts a modular design, with continuous operation of cleaning, drying, and UV / ozone sterilization processes, reducing the risk of contamination during intermediate transportation. The freezing and insecticidal device can be selected from deep-freezing refrigerators (suitable for small batches of high-value medicinal materials) or tunnel-type quick-freezing machines (suitable for large-scale continuous production) according to production capacity requirements. The latter can precisely control the freezing time by adjusting the conveyor belt speed. The modified atmosphere packaging unit is equipped with an online oxygen concentration detector, which can measure the residual oxygen in the bag in real time after each sealing and automatically determine whether it is qualified. Non-qualified products trigger the rejection mechanism to prevent missed inspections. This function greatly improves the consistency and reliability of packaging and avoids the lag caused by manual sampling inspection. The distributed wireless sensor network deployed at the monitoring end uses low-power wide-area communication technology (such as LoRa or NB-IoT), which has strong penetration and long-distance transmission capabilities. It can transmit data stably even in areas with dense metal shelves. After receiving the data, the cloud server analyzes historical trends through AI algorithms to predict potential risks (such as a continuous increase in humidity in a certain area may indicate a refrigeration unit failure).

[0026] Example 1: Low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of Angelica sinensis I. Pre-processing of medicinal materials Take 500 kg of freshly harvested Angelica sinensis rhizomes, remove soil, impurities and rotten parts, rinse them with running water, and then dry them in a 60℃ low-temperature drying oven until the moisture content is 12.3% to avoid loss of volatile oil due to high temperature.

[0027] II. Surface Disinfection The dried angelica root was evenly spread on a conveyor belt and passed through a UV sterilization channel, where it was irradiated with a UV-C lamp with a wavelength of 254nm for 15 minutes; then it entered an ozone treatment chamber at a concentration of 60mg / m³. 3 Treat the ozone environment for 30 minutes, then turn on the ventilation system to remove residual ozone and ensure environmental safety.

[0028] III. Freezing Insecticide Treatment After sterilization, the angelica root was packed into food-grade plastic crates in batches and placed in a -22°C freezer for 48 hours. During this process, the internal moisture of the insect eggs formed ice crystals, destroying the cell membrane structure and achieving complete inactivation. After removal, the eggs were warmed to room temperature in a clean area (about 2 hours) to prevent condensation.

[0029] IV. Modified Atmosphere Packaging The medicine is packaged in aluminum-plastic composite bags, with each bag containing 500g of medicine. Place the medicine bags into the working chamber of the vacuum nitrogen-filled packaging machine in sequence; Evacuate to -0.085 MPa and maintain for 10 seconds; Fill with high-purity nitrogen gas with a purity of ≥99.8% to atmospheric pressure; Repeat the above "draw-fill" cycle twice; Place one packet (1.5g) of iron-based deoxidizer and one oxygen indicator card (low oxygen color-changing type) inside the bag. After heat sealing, use a portable oxygen concentration detector to check the oxygen concentration inside the bag to confirm that it is ≤2.8%.

[0030] V. Store in a sealed container The properly sealed Angelica sinensis packaging bags are neatly stacked on a pallet, ≥30cm away from the wall and ≥20cm away from the ground, and then sent into a temperature and humidity controlled cold storage. The cold storage is set at a temperature of 4±0.5℃ and a relative humidity of 58%±3%RH, and is equipped with an automatic dehumidification and refrigeration system.

[0031] VI. Intelligent Monitoring and Management Each racking unit is equipped with a wireless temperature, humidity, and oxygen sensor node, which collects data once every 30 minutes. Data is transmitted to the gateway via LoRa wireless communication and then uploaded to the cloud monitoring platform; The platform is set with alarm thresholds: temperature > 6.5℃, humidity > 65%, and oxygen > 3%. Once these thresholds are exceeded, an audible and visual alarm will be triggered, and an SMS reminder will be sent to the administrator's mobile phone. Each batch of medicinal materials is affixed with an RFID tag to record information such as variety, origin, processing time, and warehousing date, enabling full traceability.

[0032] VII. Storage Effect Testing Random samples were taken and tested at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of storage: Visual inspection: No insect holes, no mold spots, normal color; Microbial limits: Total mold count <100 CFU / g; Component analysis (HPLC method): The retention rates of ferulic acid were 98.2%, 97.5%, 96.1%, and 94.7%, respectively. Insect infestation rate: 0 / 100 bags showed signs of insect infestation.

[0033] The results show that this method can effectively ensure that Angelica sinensis is free from insect infestation and mold within 3 years, and maintain stable quality.

[0034] Example 2: Long-term strategic reserve storage of ginseng I. Applicable Entities Select 50kg of high-quality fresh garden ginseng, suitable for the long-term preservation needs of precious and rare medicinal materials.

[0035] II. Adjustment of process parameters Given that ginsenosides are heat-sensitive, their processing method was optimized: The drying temperature was lowered to 50℃, the drying time was extended to 8 hours, and the final moisture content was controlled at 11.8%. The UV irradiation time is shortened to 10 minutes to prevent skin aging; Freezing temperature: -18℃ for 72 hours to ensure complete inactivation of deep-seated insect eggs; The packaging material has been upgraded to a three-layer aluminum-coated composite film, which has stronger puncture resistance. Each 500g of ginseng is formulated with double-packet deoxidizer (2g total) to enhance long-term antioxidant capacity.

[0036] III. Packaging and Storage After completing the vacuum nitrogen-filled packaging according to the procedure in Example 1, the materials are stored in a dedicated cold storage area for precious and rare medicinal materials, with independent zone management, and the storage temperature is controlled at 2-4℃ and the humidity at 55%±5%RH.

[0037] IV. Monitoring and Traceability Sensors are densely arranged (1 node per square meter); RFID tags are bound to unique batch codes and integrated into the enterprise's ERP system; A quality trend report is generated by remotely retrieving data each quarter.

[0038] V. Storage Effect Through continuous monitoring and random sampling, ginseng showed the following results during its 48-month storage period: The ginseng is intact, without any signs of black spot disease or soft rot. The total saponin content retention rate reached 93.6%; No live insects or signs of insect damage were found; The packaging bag was undamaged inside and out, and there was no condensation.

[0039] This demonstrates that the method is particularly suitable for the ultra-long-term safe storage of high-value Chinese medicinal materials.

[0040] Comparative example: Light-protected and oxidation-preventing storage of wolfberries Goji berries are dried to 12.5% ​​and packed into ordinary black PE vacuum bags; Each bag contains 6 packets of preservative desiccant and is vacuum-sealed. Store in a cool, well-ventilated warehouse (average temperature 25°C, RH 70%).

[0041] Conclusion: Mild lumps appeared starting in the 8th month; In the 12th month, a random inspection revealed tiny wormholes in two bags. By the 18th month, the mold rate reached 15%, and the polysaccharide content decreased to 76%. The packaging bag experienced localized micro-leakage, and the vacuum seal failed.

[0042] As can be seen from the comparison, relying solely on vacuum and desiccants is insufficient to achieve long-term stable storage. However, this invention increases insect resistance by freezing to kill eggs, suppresses pests through a combination of low oxygen and low temperature, and employs a combination strategy of intelligent monitoring during storage, which significantly improves safety and stability.

[0043] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0044] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1. Cleaning and drying: Clean the Chinese medicinal materials and remove any necrotic parts. After cleaning, dry the Chinese medicinal materials. S2. Disinfection treatment: Surface disinfection is carried out using ultraviolet light and ozone. S3. Treat the medicinal materials and insect eggs by freezing the treated medicinal materials in an environment below -18℃ to kill the insect eggs and larvae. S4. Packaging of medicinal materials: The frozen medicinal materials are packed into high-barrier composite packaging bags, and vacuuming and nitrogen filling are performed in sequence to ensure that the oxygen concentration inside the packaging bag is ≤3%; S5. Sealed packaging: After adding deoxidizer and oxygen indicator card inside the packaging bag, heat seal it. S6. Storage: The sealed medicinal materials shall be stored in a constant temperature and humidity environment with a temperature of 2-6℃ and a relative humidity of 50%-65% for a long period of time. S7. Storage environment management: Throughout the storage process, wireless sensors distributed in each storage location are used to monitor temperature, humidity and oxygen concentration in real time, and the data is transmitted to the cloud management platform for visualization and abnormal warning.

2. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying process involves natural air drying or low-temperature drying to reduce the moisture content of the medicinal materials to ≤13%.

3. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wavelength of the light source used for ultraviolet disinfection is 250–260 nm, and the irradiation time is 5–30 minutes. The ozone concentration for ozone disinfection is 20–100 mg / m³. 3 The treatment time is 10 to 60 minutes, and residual ozone is removed by ventilation after treatment.

4. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The freezing temperature is -18℃ to -25℃, and the freezing time is 24 to 72 hours.

5. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: High-barrier composite packaging bags are made of aluminum-plastic composite film, aluminized film, or multi-layer co-extruded film with EVOH / SiOx coating, with an oxygen permeability (OTR) ≤ 5 cm⁻¹. 3 / (m 2 ·24h·0.1MPa).

6. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuuming operation pressure should not be lower than -0.08MPa, the nitrogen used should be ≥99.5% pure, and the nitrogen filling process should be repeated 1 to 3 times to improve the oxygen replacement efficiency.

7. The method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The deoxidizer is an iron-based deoxidizer, packaged in a breathable paper bag, with a dosage of 0.5 to 2g of deoxidizer per 500g of medicinal materials.

8. A low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage system for traditional Chinese medicinal materials that implements the method described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that: Includes a pretreatment unit, a freezing and insecticidal device, a modified atmosphere packaging unit, a packaging device, a constant temperature and humidity cold storage, and a monitoring terminal; The pretreatment unit is used to complete the cleaning, drying, and surface sterilization of medicinal materials using ultraviolet light and ozone. The freezing and insecticidal device is a deep-freeze refrigerator or a tunnel-type quick-freeze machine, which can achieve low-temperature treatment below -18℃; Modified atmosphere packaging units include a vacuum pump, a nitrogen input interface, a heat sealing mechanism, and an online oxygen concentration detector; Packaging equipment is used for heat sealing of high-barrier composite packaging bags; The constant temperature and humidity cold storage is equipped with a ventilation system and an automatic temperature and humidity control device, with a temperature control range of 2 to 6℃ and a humidity control range of 50% to 65%RH. The monitoring system includes multiple distributed temperature and humidity sensors, oxygen sensors, RFID readers, wireless communication gateways, cloud servers, and user terminals, used for real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and anomaly alarms.

9. A method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 8, characterized in that: The monitoring terminal is equipped with preset alarm thresholds. When the temperature is detected to be greater than 6.5℃ or the relative humidity is greater than 65%, a local audible and visual alarm will be automatically triggered and a mobile notification will be sent to the management personnel.

10. A method for low-temperature nitrogen-filled insect-proof storage of traditional Chinese medicinal materials according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each batch of medicinal materials is equipped with an RFID tag or QR code to record the name of the medicinal materials, place of origin, batch number, processing date, warehousing time and processing parameters, so as to realize full-process information traceability.