Processing of medicinal crops
Post-harvest processing
Inspection and sorting
Raw medicinal plant materials should be inspected and sorted prior to primary
processing.The inspection may include:
Visual inspection for cross-contamination by untargeted medicinal plants and/or
plant parts;
Visual inspection for foreign matter;
Organoleptic evaluation, such as: appearance, damage, size, colour, odour, and
possibly taste.
Drying
When medicinal plant materials are prepared for use in dry form, the moisture
content of the material should be kept as low as possible in order to reduce
damage from mould and other microbial infestation.
Medicinal plants can be dried in a number of ways: in the open air (shaded from
direct sunlight); placed in thin layers on drying frames, wire-screened rooms or
buildings; by direct sunlight, if appropriate; in drying ovens/rooms and solar
dryers; by indirect fire; baking; lyophilization; microwave; or infrared devices.
When possible, temperature and humidity should be controlled to avoid
damage to the active chemical constituents. The method and temperature used
for drying may have a considerable impact on the quality of the resulting
medicinal plant materials.
For example, shade drying is preferred to maintain or minimize loss of colour
of leaves and flowers; and lower temperatures should be employed in the case of
medicinal plant materials containing volatile substances. The drying conditions
should be recorded.
In the case of natural drying in the open air, medicinal plant materials should be
spread out in thin layers on drying frames and stirred or turned frequently. In order
to secure adequate air circulation, the drying frames should be located at a sufficient
height above the ground. Efforts should be made to achieve uniform drying of
medicinal plant materials and so avoid mould formation.
Drying medicinal plant material directly on bare ground should be avoided. If a
concrete or cement surface is used, medicinal plant materials should be laid on a
tarpaulin or other appropriate cloth or sheeting. Insects, rodents, birds and other
pests, and livestock and domestic animals should be kept away from drying sites.
For indoor drying, the duration of drying, drying temperature, humidity and
other conditions should be determined on the basis of the plant part concerned
(root, leaf, stem, bark, flower, etc.) and any volatile natural constituents, such
as essential oils.
If possible, the source of heat for direct drying (fire) should be limited to
butane, propane or natural gas, and temperatures should be kept below 60 °C.
If other sources of fire are used, contact between those materials, smoke and
medicinal plant material should be avoided.
Specific processing
Some medicinal plant materials require specific processing to:
improve the purity of the plant part being employed;
reduce drying time;
prevent damage from mould, other microorganisms and insects;
detoxify indigenous toxic ingredients; and
enhance therapeutic efficacy.
Common specific processing practices include
pre-selection,
peeling the skins of roots and rhizomes,
boiling in water,
steaming,
soaking,
pickling,
distillation,
fumigation,
roasting,
natural fermentation,
treatment with lime and
chopping.
Processing procedures involving the formation of certain shapes, bundling and
special drying may also have an impact on the quality of the medicinal plant
materials.
Packaging
Processed medicinal plant materials should be packaged in clean, dry boxes, sacks, bags or
other containers
Materials used for packaging should be non-polluting, clean, dry and in undamaged condition
and should conform to the quality requirements for the medicinal plant materials concerned
Fragile medicinal plant materials should be packaged in rigid containers
Reusable packaging material such as jute sacks and mesh bags should be well cleaned
(disinfected) and thoroughly dried prior to reuse, so as to avoid contamination by previous
contents.
All packaging materials should be stored in a clean and dry place that is free from pests and
inaccessible to livestock, domestic animals and other sources of contamination.
Labeling
A label affixed to the packaging should clearly indicate the scientific name of the
medicinal plant, the plant part, the place of origin (cultivation or collection
site), the cultivation or collection date and the names of the grower/collector
and the processor, and quantitative information.
The label should also contain information indicating quality approval and
comply with other national and/or regional labelling requirements.
The label should bear a number that clearly identifies the production batch.
Additional information about the production and quality parameters of the
medicinal plant materials may be added in a separate certificate, which is clearly
linked to the package carrying the same batch number.
Storage and transportation
Conveyances used for transporting bulk medicinal plant materials from the
place of production to storage for processing should be cleaned between loads.
Bulk transport, such as ship or rail cars, should be cleaned and, where
appropriate, well ventilated to remove moisture from medicinal plant materials
and to prevent condensation.
Organically grown medicinal plant materials should be stored and transported
separately or in a manner that ensures their integrity.
Appropriate security measures should be applied to the storage and transport of
medicinal plant materials that are potentially toxic or poisonous.
Whenever required and when possible, fresh medicinal plant materials should
be stored at appropriate low temperatures, ideally at 2−8oC; frozen products
should be stored at less than −20oC
Fumigation against pest infestation should be carried out only when necessary,
and should be carried out by licensed or trained personnel.
Only registered chemical agents authorized by the regulatory authorities of the
source country and the countries of intended end-use should be used.
Active principles in various medicinal plants-
application and uses-extraction methods
Where are the active principles of the medicinal plants placed?
The active ingredients of medicinal plants may occur throughout the plant but
generally the roots and bark have the highest levels.
Flowers, seeds or fruit parts would contain many of them.
These principles may vary throughout a species and on plants of same species
according to many factors: time of year, soil characteristics, etc.
Below are several examples of active plant ingredients that provide
medicinal plant uses for humans.
Alkaloids
Bitters
Cardiac Glycosides
Cyanogenic Glycosides
Flavonoids
Minerals
Phenols
Polysaccharides
Proanthocyanins
Saponins
Tannins
Vitamins
Volatile oils
Extraction of active principles
Extraction, as the term is used pharmaceutically, involves the separation of
medicinally active portions of plant or animal tissues from the inactive or inert
components by using selective solvents in standard extraction procedures.
The products so obtained from plants are relatively impure liquids, semisolids
or powders intended only for oral or external use.
The extract thus obtained may be ready for use as a medicinal agent in the form
of tinctures and fluid extracts, it may be further processed to be incorporated in
any dosage form such as tablets or capsules, or it may be fractionated to isolate
individual chemical entities such as ajmalicine, hyoscine and vincristine, which
are modern drugs.
Thus, standardization of extraction procedures contributes significantly to the
final quality of the herbal drug.
Methods of Extraction of Medicinal Plants
Maceration
In this process, the whole or coarsely powdered crude drug
is placed in a stoppered container with the solvent and
allowed to stand at room temperature for a period of at
least 3 days with frequent agitation until the soluble matter
has dissolved.
The mixture then is strained, the marc (the damp solid
material) is pressed, and the combined liquids are clarified
by filtration or decantation after standing.
Infusion
Fresh infusions are prepared by macerating the crude drug for a short period of
time with cold or boiling water.
These are dilute solutions of the readily soluble constituents of crude drugs.
Digestion
This is a form of maceration in which gentle heat is used during the process of
extraction.
It is used when moderately elevated temperature is not objectionable.
Decoction
In this process, the crude drug is boiled in a specified volume of water for a
defined time; it is then cooled and strained or filtered. This procedure is suitable
for extracting water-soluble, heat stable constituents.
This process is typically used in preparation of Ayurvedic extracts called “quath”
or “kawath”.
The starting ratio of crude drug to water is fixed, e.g. 1:4 or 1:16; the volume
is then brought down to one-fourth its original volume by boiling during the
extraction procedure.
Then, the concentrated extract is filtered and used as such or processed further.
Percolation (To cause (liquid, for example) to pass through a
porous substance or small holes; filter)
This is the procedure used most frequently to extract active ingredients in the
preparation of tinctures and fluid extracts.
A percolator (a narrow, cone-shaped vessel open at both ends) is generally used.
The solid ingredients are moistened with an appropriate amount of the
specified solvent and allowed to stand for approximately 4 h in a well closed
container, after which the mass is packed and the top of the percolator is closed.
Additional solvent is added to form a shallow layer above the mass, and the
mixture is allowed to macerate in the closed percolator for 24 h.
The outlet of the percolator then is opened and the liquid contained therein is
allowed to drip slowly.
Additional menstruum is added as required, until the percolate measures about
three-quarters of the required volume of the finished product.
The marc is then pressed and the expressed liquid is added to the percolate.
Sufficient menstruum is added to produce the required volume, and the mixed
liquid is clarified by filtration or by standing followed by decanting.
Hot Continuous Extraction (Soxhlet)
In this method, the finely ground crude drug is placed in a porous bag or
“thimble” made of strong filter paper, which is placed in chamber E of the
Soxhlet apparatus.
The extracting solvent in flask A is heated, and its vapors condense in condenser
D.
The condensed extractant drips into the thimble containing the crude drug, and
extracts it by contact.
When the level of liquid in chamber E rises to the top of siphon tube C, the
liquid contents of chamber E siphon into flask A.
This process is continuous and is carried out until a drop of solvent from the
siphon tube does not leave residue when evaporated.
The advantage of this method, compared to previously described methods, is
that large amounts of drug can be extracted with a much smaller quantity of
solvent.
Aqueous Alcoholic Extraction by Fermentation
Some medicinal preparations of Ayurveda (like asava and arista) adopt the
technique of fermentation for extracting the active principles.
The extraction procedure involves soaking the crude drug, in the form of either
a powder or a decoction (kasaya), for a specified period of time, during which it
undergoes fermentation and generates alcohol
This facilitates the extraction of the active constituents contained in the plant
material.
The alcohol thus generated also serves as a preservative.
Counter-current Extraction
In counter-current extraction (CCE), wet raw material is pulverized using toothed disc
disintegrators to produce a fine slurry.
In this process, the material to be extracted is moved in one direction (generally in the form of a
fine slurry) within a cylindrical extractor where it comes in contact with extraction solvent.
The further the starting material moves, the more concentrated the extract becomes.
Complete extraction is thus possible when the quantities of solvent and material and their flow
rates are optimized.
The process is highly efficient, requiring little time and posing no risk from high temperature.
Finally, sufficiently concentrated extract comes out at one end of the extractor while the marc
(practically free of visible solvent) falls out from the other end.
Ultrasound Extraction (Sonication)
The procedure involves the use of ultrasound with frequencies ranging from 20
kHz to 2000 kHz;
The use of ultrasound or sonication to break the cell membranes has the
advantage of reducing considerably the extraction time and increasing the
extract yield.
The application of ultrasound disrupts the cell wall structure and accelerates
diffusion through membranes; thus, the cell lyses and hence facilitates the
release of cell contents.
Supercritical Fluid Extraction
Types of solvent
The solvents used in extraction are capable of penetrating
the tissues of the drug and dissolve the active principles
contained in its cell.
The various solvents used are water, propene, butane, ethyl
acetate, ethanol, methanol, CO2 , N2O, acetone etc.
Water
It is the cheap, non toxic, non inflammable and has wide solvent
action. Eg; proteins, glycosides, enzymes, sugar etc.
Disadvantages
• Water may promote growth of mould and bacteria, hence
requires a preservative.
• It may leads to hydrolysis.
• Large amount of heat is required to concentrate the aqueous
preparations.
• It promote fermentation or decomposition of the preparation
Alcohol
It is the important solvent for dissolves alkaloids, alkaloidal salts,
glycosides etc. it also dissolves many colouring matter, tannins, etc. it
doesn’t dissolve gums waxes, fats etc.
Merits
It doesn’t allow the growth of mould and bacteria in above 20% of
alcohol
It is nontoxic in the concentration mostly present in the preparations.
Small amount of heat is required for concentration
Demerits
Cost
Inflammable, volatile etc
Solvents such as ether, chloroform, light petroleum are rarely used.
Factors considered when selecting a solvent
• Solvent power (selectivity). Only the active, desired constituents
should be extracted from the plant material, which means that a high
selectivity is required.
• Boiling temperature. The boiling point of the solvent is as low as
possible in order to facilitate removal of the solvent from the
product.
• Reactivity. The solvent should not react chemically with the extract,
nor should it readily decompose.
• Viscosity. A low viscosity of the solvent leads to low pressure drop and
good heat and mass transfer.
• Safety. The solvent should be non-flammable and non-
corrosive, and should not present a toxic hazard; its disposal
should not imperil the environment.
• Cost.The solvent should be readily available at low cost.
• Vapor pressure. To prevent loss of solvent by evaporation, a
low vapor pressure at operating temperature is required.
• Recovery. The solvent has to be separated easily from the
extract to produce a solvent-free extract.
