Abstract
For the production of moxa, Artemisia princeps or Artemisia montana as materials is collected in July-August. Leaves are immediately removed and dried under direct sunlight for 3-4 days. In the factory, thermal drying is performed in a dry room at a temperature of 80-170°C to decrease the water content to 1-2% or less.
The dried leaves are roughly broken and ground using a stone mill. For rough shredding, a high speed rotator resembling the thrashing machine for agriculture is mainly used.
The entire process of moxa production from collection of the original herb is summarized in the table.
The rate of moxa production from collected raw herb is 0.5-0.6% in the highest grade product and 3-8% in the lowest grade product, and there are various grades between them. The rate of moxa production from dried leaves is 3.0-3.5% in the highest grade product and about 20-50% in the lowest grade product.
