Bile-processed Coptidis Rhizoma（B-pCR）， first documented in Shengji Zonglu， is a unique processed products of Coptidis Rhizoma（CR） characterized by "mutual enhancement processing" and "enhancing the cold property of cold-natured herbs". Pig bile can enhance the bitter and cold properties of CR， yielding potent effects in purging excess fire from the liver and gallbladder. The processing increases the dissolution of alkaloids such as berberine， coptisine， and palmatine， while introducing bile acids from pig bile， including taurine-type and glycine-type cholic acids. This enhances its pharmacological effects， such as antipyretic activity， regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism disorders， and intestinal absorption. Traditional processing techniques and quality standards for B-pCR are outlined in the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） Decoction Pieces Processing Standard and the Gansu TCM Processing Standard. However， incomplete specifications for critical process parameters and quality criteria significantly impact its production and clinical application. A review of research over the past two decades on the processing history， process optimization， quality evaluation， material basis， and changes in pharmacological effects and properties of B-pCR reveals that the pretreatment method and dosage of pig bile， and processing temperature are key factors influencing its quality. Furthermore， current quality standards lack specific indicators. Additionally， the enhancement of the cold property and medicinal efficacy direction of B-pCR is not only associated with changes in alkaloid groups but also depend on the synergistic effects of bile acids. This review can provide insights for improving the quality evaluation system of B-pCR.

As a mercury-containing elixir， Hongshengdan has been known as a sacred medicine for surgery by ancient medical practitioners because of its precise curative effects. It originated from Yizong Shuoyue in the Qing dynasty， Qing dynasty and modern medical practitioners have adapted and modified its formula for clinical application. Employing bibliometric methods， the authors systematically organized relevant ancient literature of the Qing dynasty and modern literature， and analyzed the composition and dosage， preparation method， and clinical application. Among the 25 ancient books concerning Hongshengdan， a total of 12 medicinal formulas， 15 refining methods and 9 clinical applications were obtained. Research confirms that Hongshengdan consisted of mercury， saltpeter， alum， soap alum， cinnabar and realgar. Using measurement conversion standards of Qing dynasty， the modern single-batch formulation comprised 37.30 g of mercury， 149.20 g of saltpeter， 37.30 g of alum， 22.38 g of soap alum， 18.65 g of cinnabar， and 18.65 g of realgar. In modern refining of Hongshengdan， most medical practitioners take the core medicines， with dosages approximately 30 g of mercury， 30 g of saltpeter， and 30 g of alum. Refining method involves pretreatment stewing the materials during preparation， and alum， soap alum， and saltpeter are first ground together， then combined with mercury， cinnabar， and realgar for grinding until mercury and other drugs grind to the degree of no star points. The mixture is then placed in a pot or vessel by cold-forming method. After covering， the opening is sealed using either raw gypsum salt mud or honey-dipped cotton paper strips. Sand is packed around the vessel and then pressurized. During the calcination process， begin with a low flame（30 min）， then increase to a medium flame（30 min）， followed by a high flame（30 min）， after removing fire toxins， collect the final product. Hongshengdan has the efficacy of lifting the poison， removing the corrosion， producing muscle and dispersing， and is often used in the treatment of surgical sore and carbuncle type of diseases. Modern research indicates that Hongshengdan is commonly used to treat skin system diseases such as ulcers and herpes. The aforementioned findings provide a reference basis for the subsequent refining method and clinical application of Hongshengdan.

The development and application of processing technology is closely related to the quality of Chinese medicine. Currently， Chinese medicine processing is still in the mechanization stage with limited processing equipment， low levels of automation and intelligence. As a result， the imprecise control of parameters during processing leads to unstable quality of Chinese herbal pieces. However， with the arrival of the big data era and the continuous development of "Internet+"， Chinese medicine processing technology and equipment have been continuously improved and updated， and gradually shifted to the development direction of automation and intelligence. The linkage production technology of Chinese herbal pieces optimizes the separate processing equipment coupling into the production line for continuous manufacture of Chinese herbal pieces， intending to improve production efficiency. The large-scale industrialized production of Chinese herbal pieces tends towards digital technology of processing experience and online inspection technology based on machine vision， electronic nose， and electronic tongue. These technologies are crucial prerequisites for standardizing the parameters of Chinese medicine processing. And further by docking the processing process and equipment with the internet， realizing the intelligent control of the production process is an important process for the transformation and upgrading of Chinese herbal piece industry in the future. In this paper， we summarized the development characteristics of different stages of Chinese medicine processing technology， combed application and development of processing theory， the evolution of processing equipment， and problems in the current industrial development stage of Chinese medicine processing， in order to provide ideas and methods for achieving digital and intelligent innovation of processing technology as well as high-efficient and high-quality production of Chinese herbal pieces.

ObjectiveTo explore the material basis of bile-processed Coptidis Rhizoma clearing excessive fire of liver-gallbladder based on ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF/MS） metabolomics and molecular docking. MethodUPLC-Q-TOF/MS metabolomics was used to analyze the chemical constituents of Coptidis Rhizoma， water-processed Coptidis Rhizoma and bile-processed Coptidis Rhizoma. Chromatographic separation was achieved with 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（A）-acetonitrile（B） as the mobile phase in gradient elution（0-2 min， 5%B； 2-20 min， 5%-65%B； 20-40 min， 65%-10%B； 40-45 min， 10%B； 45-46 min， 10%-95%B； 46-49 min， 95%B）， and electrospray ionization（ESI） was applied and operated in positive and negative ion modes， the acquisition range was m/z 80-1 200. Based on this， partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） and variance analysis were used to screen the differential compounds among the three products of Coptidis Rhizoma. Network pharmacology and molecular docking were used to verify the degree of association between differential compounds and excessive fire of liver-gallbladder syndrome. ResultA total of 33 chemical constituents were identified， including 2 phenolic acids， 5 binding bile acids and 26 alkaloids. And 16 differential compounds were identified by multivariate statistical analysis， including 11 alkaloids and 5 binding bile acids. Pathway enrichment analysis in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database yielded 8 pathways related to excessive fire of liver-gallbladder， and the key protein phosphatidylinositol 4，5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha isoform（PIK3CA） was obtained according to the "component-target-pathway" network analysis. Molecular docking results showed that 11 alkaloids had good binding ability with PIK3CA. ConclusionPorcine bile is unique in the processing of bile-processed Coptidis Rhizoma， which can promote the production and dissolution of 11 alkaloids， including berberine and dihydrochelerythrine. Based on the results of molecular docking and reported pharmacological experiments， it can be concluded that 16 different compounds such as berberine， dihydrochelerythrine and taurohyodeoxycholic acid are the material basis of bile-processed Coptidis Rhizoma.

OBJECTIVE To explore the influence of Zingiber officinale and processed Z. officinale on pharmacodynamic indexes and intestinal flora on gastric ulcer rats with spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type before and after processing with sand . METHODS The SD rats were randomly divided into normal group ，model group ，positive control group （Compound tianqi weitong capsule 0.45 g/kg），Z. officinale high-dose（15.0 g/kg）and low -dose（7.5 g/kg）groups，processed Z. officinale high- dose（15.0 g/kg）and low -dose（7.5 g/kg）groups，with 10 rats in each group . The rat model of gastric ulcer with spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type was established by intragastric administration of vinegar （day 1-10）and absolute ethanol （day 11）. Administration groups were given relevant liquid intragastrically ，and normal group and model group were given water intragastrically（day 5-10）. One hour after intragastric administration of absolute ethanol ，blood was taken from the femoral artery of rats ，the serum contents of motilin （MTL），gastrin（GAS），epidermal growth factor （EGF）as well as 4 items of blood coagulation [activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT），prothrombin time （PT），thrombin time （TT），fibrinogen（FIB）] were detect. The ulcer index and inhibition rate of ulcer in gastric tissue were calculated . The pathological changes of gastric tissue were observed，and the number and area of erosions were recorded . The diversity of gut microbiota in fecal samples of rats was detected . RESULTS Compared with model group ，the contents of MTL （except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），GAS（except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），EGF（except forofficinale groups） and FIB （except for Z. officinale groups），inhibitory rate of ulcer （only positive control group ）were all increased significantly （P＜0.05）. APTT（except for Z. officinale groups），PT（only processed Z. officinale high- dose group ），TT（except for Z. officinale groups），ulcer index （except for Z. officinale groups），the number （except for Z. officinale groups）and area of erosions （except for Z. officinale groups）were shortened and decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； improvement effects of processed Z. officinale were better than those of the same dose of Z. officinale on EGF ，4 items of blood coagulation（except for PT ，TT，FIB of processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），ulcer index （except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ）and inhibitory rate of ulcer （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group ，α diversity indexes as ACE ，Shannon and Simpson of intestinal microorganisms in rats were increased significantly in processed Z. officinale group；the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was decreased significantly in processed Z. officinale group，while that of Bacteroidetes was increased significantly （P＜0.05）； the relative abundance of Limosilactobacillus was decreased significantly in Z. officinale group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Z. officinale and processed Z. officinale can improve the symptoms of spleen -stomach deficiency and cold ，and enhance gastrointestinal function by increasing the content of GAS and MTL . Processed Z. officinale can significantly inhibit gastric ulcer of spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type ，which is related to the promotion of mucosal protection and repair ，improvement of coagulation functionand adjustment of gut microbiotadisorder .

Rhizoma Pinelliae Fermentata(RPF)wasoneofthecommonlyusedChinesemateriamedica(CMM). According to the ancient and modern literatures on RPF, the historical evolution, fermentation methods, chemical compositions, efficacy and microbes of RPF were systematically summarized in this paper. Through the analysis on existing problems of fermentation strains, effective components, quality standard and fermentation process, the corresponding solutions were proposed. This work may provide an idea and reference for the further study of RPF.

OBJECTIVETo study the collection the development pattern for genuineness of Aconitum carmichalii, which lays a good basis for the sustainable utilization of A. carmichalii resources.

METHODWe adopted the combined methods of investigation of herbal literatures, researching of origins in A. carmichalii and consultation with the experts, identified the development pattern of A. carmichalii. From genuine producing areas and its genuineness.

RESULTThe genuine producing area of A. carmichali is Jiangyou district of Sichuan province, genuine medicinal materials of A. carmichalii is mainly oriented by production techniques. It has cultivation techniques, unique and exquisite processing, which have trim root delicately and remove top complexly.

CONCLUSIONA. carmichalii from Jiangyou is famous genuine medicinal materials in Sichuan Province. It should strengthen the inheritance and creative research for cultivation techniques, unique and exquisite processing, ensure the safety and effect in medication.

Aconitum ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Ecosystem ; Geographic Information Systems ; Herbal Medicine ; methods ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo establish the quality criteria for decoction pieces of salt Alpinia.

METHODDecoction pieces of salt Alpinia were measured with moisture, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water-extract and volatile oils according to the procedures recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010. The content of Nootkatone was determined by HPLC, and NaCl, by chloridion electrode method.

RESULTWe obtained results of total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water-extract and volatile oils of 10 batches of decoction pieces of salt Alpinia moisture; Meanwhile we set the HPLC and chloridion electrode method.

CONCLUSIONThis research established a fine quality standard for decoction pieces of salt Alpinia.

Alpinia ; chemistry ; Calibration ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Electrochemistry ; Oils, Volatile ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Salts ; chemistry ; Solubility ; Water ; chemistry