Herbal Textual Research on Scrophulariae Radix in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

In this paper， the name， origin， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing methods of Scrophulariae Radix used in the famous classical formulas were researched by consulting related ancient materia medica， medical books and prescription books. The results showed that the name of Scrophulariae Radix originated from its shape and color. Scrophularia ningpoensis， one of the eight flavors of Zhejiang， has been highly praised in the past as a genuine base， and its authentic production area is Zhejiang. Quality of Scrophulariae Radix is best if it has a dry body， thin skin， thick branches， firm physique， black inner color， net basal part of stem， and no fine whiskers. In ancient times， the origin processing was divided into two types， including sun-dried after steaming and directly sun-dried. While it mostly used a combination of drying and sweating in modern times. Before the Ming dynasty， the processing of Scrophulariae Radix was mainly steamed. Occasionally， the stir-frying appeared. In the Ming dynasty and after the Ming dynasty， wine processing emerged such as hot wine mixed roasting， wine washing， wine steaming， because the ancients believed that wine could enhance its efficacy and reduce its cold property. In the Qing dynasty， the method of steaming and baking appeared in the water and fire system. According to the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the processing of Scrophulariae Radix includes removing rhizome residues and impurities， washing， moistening， cutting into thin slices， and drying， or soaking slightly， steaming thoroughly， drying slightly， cutting into thin slices， and drying. Referring to the relevant national documents， it is suggested that raw products of Scrophulariae Radix should be used in Liangditang and Simiao Yong′antang.