By Eric Brand

I’ll be posting a few specimens of the raw herbs that are being made into Blue Poppy’s new granule line. Shan Yao (Dioscoreae Rhizoma) is pictured here.

Our Shan Yao is purchased in the form of whole roots. Our FDA c-GMP certified manufacturing facility, Hunan Nature, does most pao zhi (herbal processing) in house, and generally they do all their own slicing and final processing. In the case of Shan Yao, it is better to buy the whole roots and slice them in-house, because most pre-sliced roots on the market are sulfured.

Sulfur makes the roots whiter and more attractive, and it prevents mold. Shan Yao tends to mold fairly readily once it is sliced, so most of the product on the market has been sulfured as a preventative measure. The same is true with white Asian ginseng (Ren Shen). Both products are hard to find in a sulfur-free form unless one buys through relatively direct channels.

There are only a few sources of sulfur-free Shan Yao on the raw herb market in the U.S. Nearly the entire Chinatown market uses the sulfured product, and two grades are often distinguished based on their slicing technique and growing region. The Huai region produces the best Shan Yao, so the name Huai Shan is used to denote the superior product. On the U.S. Chinatown market, the product known as Huai Shen often appears as thin, long slices as opposed to oval-shaped, thick slices. However, both grades in the U.S. are usually sulfured significantly. Without sulfur, the product would often be of inferior quality because it truly does not store well. Nonetheless, the unsulfured product is always preferred if it is available.

By buying our Shan Yao whole and slicing it ourselves, we are able to completely avoid the use of sulfur. We purchase a good grade that is grown in the authentic Huai production area. Whole Shan Yao looks beautiful once it is sliced, and it is a very clean white color when it is freshly cut. Our Shan Yao will surely make beautiful granules. It is fun to pick out the whole herbs and then see them cut, processed, and transformed into a concentrated extract powder. It will be even more exciting to try it out with patients.