An approach to optimize the batch mixing process for improving the quality consistency of the productsmade from traditional Chinese medicines
The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is based on the combined effects of its constituents. Variation in chemical composition between batches of TCM has always been the deterring factor in achieving con- sistency in efficacy. The batch mixing process can significantly reduce the batch-t...
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| Published in | 浙江大学学报：B卷英文版 Vol. 14; no. 11; pp. 1041 - 1048 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
2013
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is based on the combined effects of its constituents. Variation in chemical composition between batches of TCM has always been the deterring factor in achieving con- sistency in efficacy. The batch mixing process can significantly reduce the batch-to-batch quality variation in TCM extracts by mixing them in a well-designed proportion. However, reducing the quality variation without sacrificing too much of the production efficiency is one of the challenges. Accordingly, an innovative and practical batch mixing method aimed at providing acceptable efficiency for industrial production of TCM products is proposed in this work, which uses a minimum number of batches of extracts to meet the content limits. The important factors affecting the utilization ratio of the extracts （URE） were studied by simulations. The results have shown that URE was affected by the correlation between the contents of constituents, and URE decreased with the increase in the number of targets and the relative standard deviations of the contents. URE could be increased by increasing the number of storage tanks. The results have provided a reference for designing the batch mixing process. The proposed method has possible application value in reducing the quality variation in TCM and providing acceptable production efficiency simultaneously. |
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| Bibliography: | Batch-to-batch quality consistency, Batch mixing, Production efficiency, Traditional Chinese medicine 33-1356/Q The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is based on the combined effects of its constituents. Variation in chemical composition between batches of TCM has always been the deterring factor in achieving con- sistency in efficacy. The batch mixing process can significantly reduce the batch-to-batch quality variation in TCM extracts by mixing them in a well-designed proportion. However, reducing the quality variation without sacrificing too much of the production efficiency is one of the challenges. Accordingly, an innovative and practical batch mixing method aimed at providing acceptable efficiency for industrial production of TCM products is proposed in this work, which uses a minimum number of batches of extracts to meet the content limits. The important factors affecting the utilization ratio of the extracts （URE） were studied by simulations. The results have shown that URE was affected by the correlation between the contents of constituents, and URE decreased with the increase in the number of targets and the relative standard deviations of the contents. URE could be increased by increasing the number of storage tanks. The results have provided a reference for designing the batch mixing process. The proposed method has possible application value in reducing the quality variation in TCM and providing acceptable production efficiency simultaneously. |
| ISSN: | 1673-1581 1862-1783 |