Traditional Chinese Medicine Identification Methods: A Guide to Authenticity

Pearl Bursting Method
Pearl is a precious traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of calming the mind, clearing heat, improving vision, detoxifying and promoting skin regeneration. It is suitable for symptoms such as palpitations and insomnia, convulsions, epilepsy, and blurred vision caused by yin deficiency and internal heat. Genuine pearls, when burned, will crack and show a shimmering brilliance in layered fragments. If they turn into small pieces or become charred after burning, they are fake pearls.

Ginseng Taste Test Method
Ginseng is a commonly used precious traditional Chinese medicine, which has the functions of tonifying qi, nourishing body fluids, and calming the mind. It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as fatigue, poor appetite, cough and breathlessness, excessive sweating, chronic fatigue, and insufficient qi, blood, and body fluids. Red ginseng has the highest sales volume on the market. Genuine ginseng has a unique taste, with a bitter taste accompanied by sweetness. If it tastes spicy, sour, or astringent, it is fake ginseng.

Bear Bile Hovering Method
Bear bile is a good medicine for improving vision, with the effects of clearing heat, relieving spasm, and killing parasites. It is used to treat symptoms such as jaundice, dysentery, infantile convulsions, marasmus, blurred vision, and malignant sores. When identifying it, take a small amount of bear bile and put it in a cup filled with water. Genuine bear bile will hover and sink, dissolving into a yellow line, while bile from other animals will not show this hovering effect.

Notoginseng Blood Activation Method
Notoginseng, as a precious medicine for stopping bleeding, has the functions of promoting blood circulation, dispersing blood stasis, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. It is used to treat various bleeding and traumatic injuries in the body. In recent years, it has been used to treat angina pectoris in coronary heart disease with good results. To identify it, put notoginseng powder into a small amount of pig blood. The blood will turn into a watery state, mainly due to the hemolytic effect of the saponin components in notoginseng.

Silver Ear Soaking Method
Silver ear, also known as white fungus, is a nutritious food with the functions of clearing heat, nourishing yin, moisturizing dryness, and tonifying the lungs and qi. It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as debility, cough with lung heat, blood in phlegm, and hemoptysis. High-quality silver ear will expand rapidly by 5-6 times when soaked in warm water. If it does not expand much after soaking, it indicates poor quality. If it disperses after soaking, it indicates that it is made by sticking together small pieces of silver ear, which is also inferior.

Gastrodia Steaming Method
Gastrodia has the effects of calming the liver, extinguishing wind, dispelling wind and dampness, and relieving pain. It is suitable for symptoms such as headache, dizziness, convulsions in the hands and feet, and rheumatic pain. When identifying gastrodia, in addition to paying attention to the "parrot's beak" (stem base mark), "segment" (root mark), and "concave navel", you can also steam gastrodia over water and smell for the presence of a foul odor (horse urine), which indicates genuine gastrodia.

Ox Gall Bladder Nail Coating Method
Ox gall bladder is a good medicine for clearing heat, with the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, relieving wind, and relieving spasm. It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as acute high fever, convulsions in the hands and feet, and coma. It can also be used for carbuncles, furuncles, sore throat, and oral ulcers. Take a small amount of powder and moisten it with water, then coat it on the nails. If it is natural ox gall bladder, its yellow color will remain for a long time without fading.

Donkey-hide Gelatin Beating Method
Donkey-hide gelatin is made from donkey skin and is a good medicine for women to nourish blood. It has the functions of nourishing yin, nourishing blood, moistening the lungs, and stopping bleeding. It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as deficiency restlessness, involuntary movements of hands and feet, chronic cough with little phlegm, and various bleeding disorders. When identifying donkey-hide gelatin, hold the gelatin in your hand and beat it on the table with force. The gelatin will break into small pieces, which should be brown, translucent, and free of impurities. If it is soft and does not break, it may be fake.

Swiftlet Nest Pulling Method
Swiftlet nest is a nutritious food with the functions of nourishing yin, moisturizing dryness, replenishing qi, and invigorating the middle. It is used to treat symptoms such as consumptive diseases, cough with phlegm, hemoptysis, and vomiting blood. The identification method is as follows: high-quality swiftlet nest is arranged in strands, and when soaked in water, it appears silver-white, crystal-clear, soft, and elastic, with stretchability when pulled.

Tiger Bone Specific Gravity Method
Tiger bone is a well-known medicine for dispelling wind and dampness, with the effects of relieving wind, relieving pain, and strengthening tendons and bones. Tiger bone wine is a precious product among Chinese patent medicines, mainly used to treat joint arthritis caused by excessive wind and weakness of the liver and kidneys. Tiger bone is different from other animal bones because of its heavy weight and solid texture. When identifying it, you can compare the weight of tiger bone with that of cow bone, and you will find that tiger bone is twice as heavy as cow bone. At the same time, tiger bone does not become hollow after breaking, but is like the shape of a loofah sponge, with a large amount of oil, and yellow in color.