Ultra fine grinding can improve the dissolution rate of effective ingredients and increase the bioavailability of medicinal materials; Can reduce the amount of medicinal materials used and improve their utilization rate; Beneficial for preserving the bioactive components of medicinal herbs; The hygiene quality in the production process has also been greatly improved compared to traditional crushing.
However, ultrafine grinding also has its drawbacks, mainly manifested in:
1. Ultra fine grinding not only improves the dissolution rate of effective ingredients in medicinal materials, but also exposes toxic components within cells. While enhancing pharmacological effects, the toxicological effects are also greatly enhanced, which to some extent increases the risk of medication. For example, the acute toxicity of the conventional powder of Strychnos nux and its micro powder to mice was measured, and the median lethal dose of both was determined. It was found that the particle size of the micro powder decreased, which could increase its absorption in the body, but the toxicity of the micro powder was greater than that of the conventional powder. Therefore, in future research work, it is necessary to consider toxicity issues while studying whether to enhance drug efficacy.
During the process of ultrafine grinding, cross contamination is inevitable, and achieving automation of cleaning is also a problem that needs to be solved.
3. For medicinal materials containing aromatic and volatile components, ultrafine grinding increases their cell wall breaking rate and also causes certain loss of volatile components, especially for medicinal materials with lower content of volatile components themselves. Further research is needed to determine to what extent the ultrafine grinding of some medicinal materials with macromolecular active ingredients can achieve the highest dissolution rate of the active ingredients without being destroyed. Ultrafine pulverization technology has great advantages in leveraging the efficacy of a single medicinal herb, but it is still worth exploring whether it is suitable for compound preparations, especially traditional Chinese medicine formulas that require decoction. Therefore, the application of this advanced technology in traditional Chinese medicine still needs further investigation and research.
