Cistanche multi-field coupling combined drying method and preparation process

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of Cistanche multi-field coupling combined drying method and preparation process, it is related to the technical field of traditional Chinese medicinal materials processing, including the way of temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field and airflow field five field synergic coupling, design raw material pretreatment, low-temperature air field pre-drying, multi-field coupling main drying, low-temperature vacuum final drying and post-processing ladder type continuous process, realize the rapid, uniform, low-temperature dehydration of Cistanche.The process greatly shortens drying period, reduces unit product energy consumption, can maximize the core active ingredients such as echinacoside, verbascoside in desert Cistanche, the obtained finished product color is uniform, no burnt paste no hard core, rehydration is excellent.The drying efficiency and energy consumption of the application are considered, the ladder type drying design of the process through five field synergic coupling, greatly shortens the drying period of Cistanche, and realizes the efficient use of energy, compared with traditional drying process unit product energy consumption reduces more than 30%, adapts to the cost control demand of industrialized large-scale production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of traditional Chinese medicine processing technology, specifically to a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola. Background Technology

[0002] Cistanche deserticola, also known as "desert ginseng," is a perennial herbaceous parasitic plant belonging to the Orobanchaceae family. Its core active ingredients, such as echinacoside and verbascoside, are key to its medicinal value in anti-aging, immune regulation, and improving spleen deficiency. The drying and processing technology directly determines the retention rate of its active ingredients, the quality of the finished product, and its medicinal value, and is also a core link in the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine. Gansu Province, as the core production area of ​​desert Cistanche deserticola, boasts the unique temperate continental climate, sandy soil, and pure water sources along the Tengger Desert, including Wuwei, Jingtai, and Minqin. Jingtai Cistanche deserticola, cultivated in these areas, has been recognized as a national geographical indication product. Its total content of echinacoside and verbascoside is ≥0.35%, betaine content is ≥57.80 mg / g, and extract content is not less than 57%, placing it among the top in the country in terms of medicinal quality. Desert Cistanche deserticola has become an important pillar for the revitalization of the local desert industry and the coordinated development of ecology and economy, and is gradually expanding into deep processing fields such as plant beverages and health products. However, the drying and processing of desert Cistanche deserticola in Gansu Province is still mainly based on traditional techniques, supplemented by some single or simple combinations of modern drying technologies. The overall processing level lags behind the resource and quality advantages of the production area, and there are many technical defects that need to be addressed: First, traditional natural sun-drying is the mainstream processing method in the area. Fresh Cistanche deserticola is directly sun-dried or shade-dried after simple impurity removal. Affected by the large temperature difference between day and night and the wind and sand in the desert area, the drying cycle is as long as 15-30 days, which easily leads to uneven drying, surface contamination with impurities, mold and other problems.

[0003] Furthermore, existing drying technologies for Cistanche deserticola generally suffer from the common industry problem of balancing efficiency, energy consumption, and quality. Various drying processes either prioritize efficiency at the expense of component retention or focus on quality at the expense of increased energy consumption and cycle time. Moreover, these processes suffer from poor stability and low repeatability, making them unsuitable for continuous industrial production. Addressing the pain points in the industrial development of Cistanche deserticola in Gansu Province, there is an urgent need to develop a specialized drying process tailored to the characteristics of this variety. This process should achieve rapid, uniform, and low-temperature dehydration, shortening the drying cycle and reducing energy consumption while maximizing the retention of its core active ingredients and authentic quality. The process must also be stable, controllable, and adaptable to large-scale industrial production, thereby promoting the high-quality development of the Cistanche deserticola industry in Gansu Province and fully leveraging the resource and quality advantages of this authentic medicinal material. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: Firstly, a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola includes a multi-field synergistic coupling of temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field, and airflow field. The drying of Cistanche deserticola is achieved through a step-by-step continuous process involving raw material pretreatment, low-temperature airflow pre-drying, multi-field coupled main drying, low-temperature vacuum final drying, and post-treatment. The specific steps are as follows: Step 1: Raw material pretreatment. Select fresh, mold-free, and undamaged Cistanche deserticola, remove surface mud and impurities, cut into uniform slices, segments, or strips, wash and drain surface water. Step 2: Low-temperature airflow pre-drying. Place the pretreated raw materials in a low-temperature airflow drying device, control the drying temperature at 25-40℃, the airflow velocity at 1-3m / s, and the relative humidity at 30%-45%, and dry until the moisture content of the raw materials drops to 40%-50%. Step 3: Multi-field coupled main drying. The pre-dried Cistanche deserticola raw material is transferred to a multi-field coupled drying device. The temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field, and airflow field are activated simultaneously. The drying temperature is controlled at 35-50℃, microwave power at 200-500W, vacuum degree at 0.04-0.08MPa, airflow velocity at 0.5-2m / s, and relative humidity at 20%-35%. The drying continues until the moisture content of the raw material drops to 15%-20%. Step 4: Low-temperature vacuum final drying. Transfer the raw materials after primary drying to a low-temperature vacuum drying device, control the drying temperature at 20-30℃ and the vacuum degree at 0.08-0.095MPa, and dry until the moisture content of the raw materials drops to 8%-12%. Step 5: Post-processing. After final drying, the Cistanche deserticola is cooled to room temperature, sieved, impurities removed, and then packaged.

[0006] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: in step 2, the low temperature wind field pre-drying utilizes the synergistic effect of the temperature field and the airflow field to avoid the subsequent drying of the raw materials, causing them to crack or deform.

[0007] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: in step 3, the multi-field coupled main drying achieves five-field synergy, which ensures uniform drying while rapidly dehydrating and avoids local overheating.

[0008] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that: in step 4, the low-temperature vacuum final drying retains only the synergistic effect of the temperature field and the vacuum field to achieve low-temperature deep dehydration.

[0009] Secondly, this invention also proposes a Cistanche deserticola preparation process using a multi-field coupled drying method. The process is characterized by a stepped continuous drying process, with the synergistic coupling of five fields—temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field, and airflow field—as its core. These fields are sequentially connected to a raw material pretreatment unit, a low-temperature airflow pre-drying unit, a multi-field coupled main drying unit, a low-temperature vacuum final drying unit, and a post-treatment unit. Each unit is seamlessly connected via industrial conveying components, achieving fully automated continuous operation of Cistanche deserticola from raw material processing to finished product packaging.

[0010] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that each unit of the process is equipped with an independent parameter control module, which can accurately and independently control the process parameters such as temperature, vacuum degree, airflow speed, and microwave power of each drying unit according to the processing specifications, initial moisture content and batch differences of the raw material of Cistanche deserticola. Moreover, the parameter data of each module can be collected, recorded and traced in real time, and the process repeatability is ≥95%.

[0011] A further improvement of the technical solution of the present invention is that the process is adapted to the industrial production line transformation of drying root and rhizome Chinese medicinal materials. The production line includes a raw material feeding mechanism, a continuous drying chamber, an online moisture content detection component, a finished product screening mechanism, and an automatic packaging mechanism, and all mechanisms operate in conjunction with each other.

[0012] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the technical progress achieved by this invention compared to the prior art is as follows: 1. This invention provides a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola, which balances drying efficiency and energy consumption. This process significantly shortens the drying cycle of Cistanche deserticola through a five-field synergistic coupling step drying design, and achieves efficient energy utilization. Compared with traditional drying processes, the energy consumption per unit product is reduced by more than 30%, which is suitable for the cost control requirements of large-scale industrial production.

[0013] 2. This invention provides a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola, which fully preserves the core active ingredients. The entire process adopts a low-temperature dehydration system, and the multi-field synergy avoids local overheating and uneven drying problems. It effectively retains the core active ingredients such as echinacoside and verbascoside in Cistanche deserticola, and the retention rate is significantly improved compared with traditional hot air and microwave drying, thus ensuring the medicinal value of the finished product.

[0014] 3. This invention provides a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola, resulting in a product with excellent overall quality. The dried Cistanche deserticola has a uniform color and natural appearance, without scorching, hardening, cracking, or deformation. It also has excellent rehydration properties, quickly restoring its original texture after soaking in warm water, thus meeting the quality requirements for clinical use and processing of traditional Chinese medicine.

[0015] 4. This invention provides a multi-field coupled drying method and preparation process for Cistanche deserticola. The process has strong adaptability and controllability, and each step is a seamless automated continuous operation. The process parameters can be flexibly and accurately adjusted according to the specifications of Cistanche deserticola raw materials and initial moisture content. The parameters can be collected and traced in real time, and the process has good repeatability. At the same time, it can be extended to the drying and processing of other rhizomes and medicinal materials, and has a wide range of applications. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is an overall flowchart of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the multi-field coupled main drying core process of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the continuous industrial production process of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the refined process of raw material pretreatment according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to embodiments:

[0018] Example 1

[0019] A multi-field coupled drying method for Cistanche deserticola employs a multi-field synergistic coupling approach involving temperature, humidity, microwave, vacuum, and airflow fields. The drying process is achieved through a stepped, continuous procedure: raw material pretreatment, low-temperature airflow pre-drying, multi-field coupled main drying, low-temperature vacuum final drying, and post-treatment. The specific operations for each step are as follows: Raw material pretreatment: Select fresh, mold-free, and undamaged Cistanche deserticola, remove surface mud and impurities, cut into uniform slices, segments or strips according to industrial production requirements, wash and drain surface water to obtain pretreated Cistanche deserticola raw material. Low-temperature airflow pre-drying: The pre-treated raw materials are placed in a low-temperature airflow drying equipment. The temperature field and airflow field work together to control the drying temperature at 25-40℃, the airflow velocity at 1-3m / s, and the relative humidity at 30%-45%. The raw materials are dried until the moisture content drops to 40%-50%, thus completing the pre-drying process and preventing cracking and deformation of the raw materials during subsequent drying. Multi-field coupled main drying: The pre-dried Cistanche deserticola raw material is transferred to a multi-field coupled drying device, where the temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field, and airflow field are simultaneously activated to achieve synergistic coupling drying of the five fields; the drying temperature is controlled at 35-50℃, microwave power at 200-500W, vacuum degree at 0.04-0.08MPa, airflow velocity at 0.5-2m / s, and relative humidity at 20%-35%, until the moisture content of the raw material drops to 15%-20%. This process achieves rapid dehydration, and the synergistic effect of each field ensures uniform drying and avoids local overheating; Low-temperature vacuum final drying: The raw materials after the main drying are transferred to a low-temperature vacuum drying equipment, where only the temperature field and the vacuum field work together. The drying temperature is controlled at 20-30℃ and the vacuum degree is 0.08-0.095MPa. The raw materials are dried until the moisture content drops to 8%-12% (meeting the moisture content standard of dried Chinese medicinal materials), achieving deep dehydration at low temperature and retaining the active ingredients to the maximum extent. Post-processing: The final dried Cistanche deserticola is placed in a room temperature, dry, and ventilated environment to cool to room temperature. Then it is sieved, impurities are removed, and debris is removed. It is then packaged according to specifications to complete the entire drying and preparation process.

[0020] Example 2 A multi-field coupled drying process for preparing Cistanche deserticola includes the following steps: Raw material pretreatment: Select fresh Cistanche deserticola, remove mud and impurities, cut into thin slices with a thickness of 0.5cm, rinse with clean water and drain the surface water; Low-temperature airflow pre-drying: Place the Cistanche deserticola slices in a low-temperature airflow drying device, control the temperature at 30℃, the airflow velocity at 2m / s, and the relative humidity at 40%, and dry until the moisture content is 45%; Multi-field coupled main drying: The pre-dried sheet is transferred into a multi-field coupled drying device, five fields are activated in synergy, the temperature is controlled at 40℃, microwave power at 300W, vacuum degree at 0.06MPa, airflow velocity at 1m / s, and relative humidity at 30%, and dried to a moisture content of 18%; Low-temperature vacuum final drying: Transfer to a low-temperature vacuum drying equipment, control the temperature at 25℃ and the vacuum degree at 0.09MPa, and dry until the moisture content is 10%; Post-processing: After cooling to room temperature, the product is sieved to remove impurities, vacuum-sealed and packaged to obtain the dried Cistanche deserticola product.

[0021] The finished product has a uniform color, no scorching or hard core, and a retention rate of 92.5% for echinacoside and 91.8% for verbascoside. It has good rehydration properties and the entire drying cycle is 12 hours, which is 60% shorter than the traditional hot air drying cycle (30 hours).

[0022] Example 3 A multi-field coupled drying process for preparing Cistanche deserticola includes the following steps: Raw material pretreatment: Select fresh Cistanche deserticola, remove mud and impurities, cut into 3cm long sections, rinse with clean water and drain the surface water; Low-temperature airflow pre-drying: Cistanche deserticola segments are placed in a low-temperature airflow drying device, with the temperature controlled at 35℃, the airflow velocity at 2.5m / s, and the relative humidity at 35%, until the moisture content is 42%. Multi-field coupled main drying: The pre-dried segmented raw material is transferred into a multi-field coupled drying device, and the five fields are activated in synergy. The temperature is controlled at 45℃, the microwave power is 400W, the vacuum degree is 0.07MPa, the airflow velocity is 1.5m / s, the relative humidity is 25%, and the moisture content is dried to 16%. Low-temperature vacuum final drying: Transfer to a low-temperature vacuum drying equipment, control the temperature at 28℃ and the vacuum degree at 0.092MPa, and dry until the moisture content is 9%; Post-processing: After cooling to room temperature, the product is sieved to remove impurities, then packaged with nitrogen to obtain the dried Cistanche deserticola product.

[0023] The resulting product has a natural color, no scorching or hard core, and retains 93.2% echinacoside and 92.5% verbascoside. It has excellent rehydration properties, and the entire drying cycle is 10 hours. The energy consumption per unit product is reduced by 35% compared to traditional microwave drying.

[0024] The present invention has been described in detail above. However, modifications or improvements can be made to it, which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, any modifications or improvements that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-field coupled drying method for Cistanche deserticola, characterized in that, This includes employing a multi-field synergistic coupling method involving temperature, humidity, microwave, vacuum, and airflow fields. The drying of Cistanche deserticola is achieved through a stepped, continuous process: raw material pretreatment, low-temperature airflow pre-drying, multi-field coupled main drying, low-temperature vacuum final drying, and post-treatment. The specific steps are as follows: Step 1: Raw material pretreatment. Select fresh, mold-free, and undamaged Cistanche deserticola, remove surface mud and impurities, cut into uniform slices, segments, or strips, wash and drain surface water. Step 2: Low-temperature airflow pre-drying. Place the pretreated raw materials in a low-temperature airflow drying device, control the drying temperature at 25-40℃, the airflow velocity at 1-3m / s, and the relative humidity at 30%-45%, and dry until the moisture content of the raw materials drops to 40%-50%. Step 3: Multi-field coupled main drying. The pre-dried Cistanche deserticola raw material is transferred to a multi-field coupled drying device. The temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field, and airflow field are activated simultaneously. The drying temperature is controlled at 35-50℃, microwave power at 200-500W, vacuum degree at 0.04-0.08MPa, airflow velocity at 0.5-2m / s, and relative humidity at 20%-35%. The drying continues until the moisture content of the raw material drops to 15%-20%. Step 4: Low-temperature vacuum final drying. Transfer the raw materials after primary drying to a low-temperature vacuum drying device, control the drying temperature at 20-30℃ and the vacuum degree at 0.08-0.095MPa, and dry until the moisture content of the raw materials drops to 8%-12%. Step 5: Post-processing. After final drying, the Cistanche deserticola is cooled to room temperature, sieved, impurities removed, and then packaged.

2. The method and preparation process for multi-field coupled drying of Cistanche deserticola according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 2, the low-temperature air field pre-drying utilizes the synergistic effect of the temperature field and the airflow field to prevent the raw materials from cracking or deforming during subsequent drying.

3. The method and preparation process for multi-field coupled drying of Cistanche deserticola according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 3, the multi-field coupled main drying achieves five-field synergy, ensuring uniform drying while rapidly dehydrating and avoiding local overheating.

4. The method and preparation process for multi-field coupled drying of Cistanche deserticola according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 4, the low-temperature vacuum final drying retains only the synergistic effect of the temperature field and the vacuum field to achieve deep dehydration at low temperature.

5. A process for preparing Cistanche deserticola based on the drying method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, This process is a stepped continuous drying preparation process, with the synergistic coupling of five fields: temperature field, humidity field, microwave field, vacuum field and airflow field as the core. It is sequentially connected to the raw material pretreatment unit, low temperature air field pre-drying unit, multi-field coupled main drying unit, low temperature vacuum final drying unit and post-processing unit. Each unit is seamlessly connected through industrialized conveying components, realizing the fully automated continuous operation of Cistanche deserticola from raw material processing to finished product packaging.

6. The method and preparation process for multi-field coupled drying of Cistanche deserticola according to claim 5, characterized in that: Each unit of the process is equipped with an independent parameter control module, which can accurately and independently control the process parameters such as temperature, vacuum degree, airflow speed, and microwave power of each drying unit according to the processing specifications, initial moisture content and batch differences of the Cistanche deserticola raw material. Moreover, the parameter data of each module can be collected, recorded and traced in real time, and the process repeatability is ≥95%.

7. The method and preparation process for multi-field coupled drying of Cistanche deserticola according to claim 5, characterized in that: The process is adapted to the industrial production line transformation of drying root and rhizome Chinese medicinal materials. The production line includes a raw material feeding mechanism, a continuous drying chamber, an online moisture content detection component, a finished product screening mechanism, and an automatic packaging mechanism, with all mechanisms operating in conjunction.

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