Impacts of sulfur fumigation on the quality and bioactivity of Qiyao Wan

Sulfur fumigation could significantly change the active components in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which affects the quality and bioactivity of TCM. Chinese herbal medicine formulas (中藥複方) are the form of clinical dosages of TCM. However, whether sulfur fumigation treatment on herbs will affect the quality and biological activity of the final TCM formulas remains unknown.
Qiyao Wan (芪藥丸) is proprietary Chinese medicine independently developed by our partner company, consisting of Astragalus membranaceus (黃芪), Dioscorea polystachya (山藥), Rhizoma Atractylodis (蒼朮), and Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl (玄參). Preliminary investigation found that these four herbs were commonly sulfur fumigated in the market. This project intends to comprehensively evaluate whether sulfur fumigation on herbs will affect the overall quality of Qiyao Wan from three aspects: active ingredient content, absorption & metabolism in vivo, and pharmacological activity.
It is expected that the research results could evaluate the effect of sulfur fumigation on the quality and biological activity of Qiyao Wan, and provide technical support for its production process and product redevelopment, so as to improve the quality of Qiyao Wan and benefit Hong Kong citizens.