Mume, also known as sour plum, yellow plum, Hehan plum and dried plum, is a dried, nearly ripe and baked fruit of Prunus in Rosaceae. Shi Mei is recorded in Shennong's Herbal Classics and listed as a national medicine. In ancient times, salted plum, soup and plum have always been the most commonly used condiments in daily life. Li Shizhen recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Those who pick semi-yellow fruits in Shi Mei use smoked plums, while young people use salt to dry them, and then dry them into Bai Mei. They can also be fried with honey and stored in sugar to fill the fruit ... Only ebony and Bai Mei can be used as medicine ". At present, China Pharmacopoeia only accepts ebony as medicine.

Mume is rich in nutrition.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that ebony is flat in nature and sour in taste, and belongs to liver, spleen, lung and large intestine meridians. It has the effects of astringing lung, relieving cough, astringing intestine, relieving diarrhea, relieving swelling and toxic materials, promoting salivation, quenching thirst, regulating stomach and tranquilizing mind. Modern research shows that ebony is rich in nutrition, and its main active components are organic acids, polysaccharides, flavonoids and polyphenols, terpenoids, vitamins and so on. The main mineral elements are calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus and zinc.

Organic acids are the main functional nutrients in dark plum, among which citric acid content is relatively high, accounting for 40.5%. Citric acid is an essential organic acid for the metabolism of cell substances in human body, which can promote the decomposition of lactic acid into water and carbon dioxide to be excreted, thus eliminating fatigue and facilitating the absorption of calcium, thus making dark plum have its unique nutritional and health care functions. In addition, dark plum also contains picric acid which has strong bactericidal effect and can improve liver function, and amygdalin which has antipyretic and analgesic effects.

Health care function of raw materials of ebony.

There are many processed fruits and plums in the market, such as preserved plum and licorice plum, which people like to eat. Plum smoked plums are mainly used to prepare sour plum soup, as well as other plum drinks and plum wine. It can also be combined with other raw materials with the same origin of medicine and food to make corresponding health food.

Among the health foods that have been approved for marketing at present, the most common health care function of health food developed with dark plum as the main raw material is clearing throat, which is generally compatible with Siraitia grosvenorii and Sterculia Lychnophora.

Ebony finished products are oblate or irregular spherical, with brown-black to blackish surface, shrinkage and unevenness. It's better to be big, thick, soft, black and sour. Mume is suitable for people with deficiency heat, thirst, dyspepsia and chronic diarrhea, and also for people with biliary ascariasis. When stored, it should be placed in a closed container and in a cool and dry place to avoid mildew.