SUN TEN is one of the largest and oldest manufacturers of Chinese herbal extracts.
The manufacturing of traditional Chinese herbal formulas and ingredients follows a protocol
that marries modern pharmaceutical science with traditional herbal knowledge.
Conscious handling ensures final product quality that if safe, consistent,
and efficacious - true to traditional Chinese herbology.
Historically, the majority of classical Chinese herbal formulas have been decocted by water. Water offers excellent medicinal constituent extraction as a neutral solvent that doesn’t alter the desired medicinal actions of the herbs. All the ingredients of a formula decocted together in water yields a product that is synergistically refined and more potent than the sum of ingredients if taken individually. SUN TEN uses only water-based decoction methods for the entire manufacturing process, including essential oil recovery.
The sequence of herbs placed in a decoction determines the purpose of a formula. For example, the rhubarb (Da Huang) in Rhubarb & Mirabilitum Combination (Tiao Wei Cheng Qi Tang) must be decocted first, followed by other ingredients to enable the formula to offer the therapeutic effect of “harmonizing the stomach and soothing the qi.” On the other hand, the rhubarb in Major Rhubarb Combination (Da Cheng Qi Tang) must be decocted last which enables the formula to offer the effect of “purging down the evils quickly”. SUN TEN follows an established sequence of decoction specific to the desired purpose of the final formula.
According to traditional Chinese herbal preparation methods, the handling of certain herbal medicines affect product efficacy. When preparing aromatic herbal medicines by decoction, it is known that they must be added during the last few minutes of the decoction process. This is because prolonged exposure to intense heat will damage and evaporate the essential oils which contain active constituents needed to deliver the desired medicinal effect.
When manufacturing on a large scale using pharmaceutical grade decoction procedures, handling herbal medicines that contain sensitive essential oils needs an alternative and scientific procedure. An estimated 23%-29% of the active volatile components are typically lost during the manufacture process. In order to prevent the loss of thermal sensitive constituents, a proprietary essential oil recovery device has been developed to retain the active ingredients and maximize the efficacy of the finished product, validated by analytical verification.
Low temperature vacuum concentration can prevent substantial loss of thermal sensitive constituents. Sun Ten granules are on average, four to six times more potent than raw herbs.
Fluid bed granulation, the final step of processing by transforming concentrated liquid to granules, is conducted with the addition of an excipient to stabilize the finished product.
The use of excipients in Chinese herbal extracts is necessary to transform concentrated herbal extract liquid into dry granule.
he amount of excipients used in each product varies depending on the characteristics of the herbs within the formula. Without the correct amount of excipient, the granules will absorb atmospheric moisture once they are exposed to air which cause the granules to clump together and become unstable. SUN TEN uses GMO-free corn starch as an excipient, never genetically modified corn starch.
Sun Ten products are only available with referral by a qualified practitioner.