Research on the evaluation of the level of “shape, color, taste, and quantity” of a single branch of a stone pillar
Coptis chinensis Franch. is a plant in the Ranunculaceae family Dry rhizomes of Coptis deltoidea C. Y. Cheng et Hsiao or Coptis teeta Wall. Since ancient times, Sichuan has been considered the main production area of Huanglian. The “Record of Famous Doctors” records that “Huanglian was born in Wuyang and the mountains of Shu County”. Among them, Shizhu Huanglian is the most famous and has always held a high position in the Huanglian industry. A study has found that there are differences in the content of major alkaloids in different parts of Huanglian in different cultivation areas of Shizhu, and the order of the content of the four alkaloids is: berberine>coptisine>berberine>palmatine. At present, the identification of traditional Chinese medicinal materials is mainly based on manual evaluation, lacking objective quantitative indicators, poor repeatability, large individual differences, and difficult inheritance. Electronic tongue and colorimeter have been widely used in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. Huanglian has no specific quantifiable standards for color and taste in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, except for clear numerical specifications for length and diameter. Huanglian is mainly priced based on its appearance size in the market, and the appearance grade standards are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In experience identification, Huanglian has always preferred those with “bitter taste and yellow color”. In order to standardize the market circulation of Huanglian and fill the gap in digital evaluation of color and taste of Huanglian; This study uses electronic tongue technology to characterize “bitter taste” and electronic eye technology to characterize “yellow color”, explores the digital information characteristics of “color and taste” of Huanglian, and divides the digital levels of “shape, color, taste, and quantity” of Shizhu Huanglian.

 

At present, the quality of traditional Chinese medicine is still mainly evaluated based on its chemical composition. The complexity of traditional Chinese medicine components results in the overall process of pharmacological effects being the result of internal material interactions. Therefore, the overall quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine is particularly important. “Color and taste” represent substances with common properties within the medicine, and have a significance for the overall evaluation of the medicine. In order to improve the identification and specification grade evaluation system of Huanglian medicinal materials, and achieve overall quality evaluation of medicinal materials, this study uses modern biomimetic technology to express the iconic features of Huanglian in traditional identification, such as “yellow color and extremely bitter taste,” in a digital way. At the same time, the color and taste are classified into digital grades, realizing the digitization of sensory description of Chinese medicinal materials, inheriting excellent historical experience, and laying the foundation for the digital grading standards of Chinese medicinal materials and the digitization of overall sensory identification.