1 Causes of Scutellaria baicalensis turning green

Oxidized.

Scutellaria baicalensis contains some enzymes that can hydrolyze baicalin, and under certain warm and humid conditions, this enzyme will hydrolyze baicalin and baicalin contained in scutellaria into baicalein and baicalein.

Baicalein is a neighboring trihydroxyflavone, the nature of itself is not stable, in the air easily oxidized into quinone derivatives, so it will appear bright green, in general, will turn green scutellaria called "green scutellaria".

2 Scutellaria baicalensis green can still be used medicinally

It is not recommended to continue to use it medicinally.

Although the green scutellaria does not contain toxic substances, but because the scutellaria contains the main active ingredient is baicalin, and when the scutellaria becomes green, the baicalin contained in it will be converted into other substances, so it will affect the scutellaria's effective role in medicine.

And scutellaria baicalensis green also proves that its storage environment is relatively humid, hot, which will also affect the other active ingredients of the drug, so for the green scutellaria baicalensis, it is not recommended to continue to medicinal use.

3 Scutellaria baicalensis what color is normal

Generally speaking, it is yellow.

Scutellaria baicalensis is bitter in taste and cold in nature, and belongs to the lung, gallbladder, spleen, large intestine and small intestine meridians, and is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis of the Labiatae family, also known as the root of Camellia sinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis tea, and the root of Tujin tea.

The surface of Scutellaria baicalensis is generally brownish yellow or dark yellow, hard and brittle, easy to break, the cross section is similarly yellow, reddish brown in the middle, if it is an old root, then the center of the withered and decayed or hollow, dark brown or brownish black, which contains a variety of medicines and active ingredients, which has the effect of clearing away heat and drying dampness, diarrhea and detoxification, and stopping bleeding and restoring the fetus to the human body.

4 How to prevent scutellaria from turning green

Microwave method.

If you want to ensure the quality of Scutellaria baicalensis and prevent Scutellaria baicalensis from turning green, then you need to first ensure that the storage environment is dry and low-temperature, so as to avoid Scutellaria baicalensis oxidation.

Secondly, you can also use the microwave method or cooking method, the hydrolytic enzyme contained in the scutellaria inactivated, and then sealed and stored, which can not only soften the herb, conducive to slicing, but also reduce the quality of the scutellaria due to the influence of the storage conditions and the possibility of deterioration.