Traditional Chinese medicine is mainly composed of plant medicines and mineral medicines. There are about 5000 types of traditional Chinese medicine, and there are countless formulas formed by their combination. Various medical colleges in China have offered courses on natural medicine, which are commonly known as Chinese herbal medicine. The curative effect of Chinese herbal medicine has been paid more and more attention in the world today. For example, acupuncture and moxibustion in China and the preparation of Chinese herbal medicine have gone deep into the world, and the researchability of Chinese herbal medicine has given us many different plasticity.

The main methods for extracting active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine are solvent extraction (such as soaking, decoction, reflux extraction, continuous reflux extraction, etc.) and steam distillation. In addition to small molecule active ingredients, the extraction solution also contains a large amount of impurities. These substances are ineffective and need to be removed. Traditional separation and purification methods include two-phase solvent extraction, crystallization, precipitation, dialysis, fractionation, salting out, and chromatography. Due to the complex composition of the extract, traditional processes require repeated dissolution and concentration of the drug solution, resulting in a long production cycle and an increased risk of bacterial infection. The active ingredients are thermally damaged and the yield is low. In addition, the impurity content often exceeds the standard and the effective ingredient content is low. If the finished product is an oral or injectable solution, its transparency and stability will be affected. Below, the editor will introduce the application of membrane separation equipment in traditional Chinese medicine extraction.

Membrane separation technology is an emerging and efficient separation technique that selectively separates neurotransmitters through a membrane. When there is a certain potential difference, concentration difference, or pressure difference on both sides of the membrane, the components on the raw material side will selectively pass through the membrane, thereby achieving the purpose of separation and purification.

Research has shown that membrane separation equipment has three main functions in the separation and purification of traditional Chinese medicine components, namely intercepting large molecular impurities, filtering out small molecular substances, and dehydrating and concentrating. Separation membranes can be divided into microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis based on their pore size. Various membrane processes have different separation mechanisms and can be adapted to different objects and requirements. Microfiltration and ultrafiltration are widely used in the field of pharmaceutical research.

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine products largely depends on the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine extraction and separation. Increasing the use of extraction and separation technologies and membrane separation equipment will play an important role in improving the quality of traditional Chinese medicine products. The trend of human return to nature and the strategic goal of domestic traditional Chinese medicine going global have created favorable conditions for the research and development of traditional Chinese medicine. We should seize the opportunity, promote the application of membrane separation equipment in the traditional Chinese medicine industry, and promote the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine.