<b>Herbological Study on the Processing of Ginger </b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

Processing methods for the crude drugs <i>shokyo </i>(fresh ginger) and <i>kankyo </i>(dried ginger) have been different in China and Japan, although the reasons for this have not been clear. In this study, we revealed a historical transition in the processing methods for <i>shokyo </i>and <i>kankyo</i>.<BR>We found that the name <i>shokyo </i>had been used for fresh ginger rhizome in China since the end of the Hou han dynasty. The name had also been used for <i>shokyo </i>in Japan, whereas the term <i>shokyo </i>was then applied to dried ginger in the Japanese pharmacopoeia during the Meiji era. With <i>kankyo</i>, on the other hand, several dif ferent processing methods existed in China. For example, ginger fermented in a ceramic pot after being soaked in running water and dried was called <i>kankyo</i>, and was strongly associated with the property ‘hot’. However, we supposed that simply dried ginger, which has the property ‘warm’, came to be called as <i>kankyo </i>exclusively from the middle of the Qing dynasty. Meanwhile, only ginger dried with lime after being steamed was called <i>kankyo </i>in Japan. We also found that ginger whitened with lime was produced and sold in pharmacies because of a description by Shizhen Li, to the effect that “white ginger has higher quality”. This controversial method has been changed to one without the use of lime since the Meiji era.