Herbs are usually processed and marketed or used only after proper drying. The collection of medicinal plants must therefore be followed by proper drying. The aim of drying is to remove excess moisture from the plants or parts of plants, without, however, significantly altering the quality and quantity of the active substances.
Drying can take two forms: natural or artificial.
Natural drying is the process of drying plant parts at ordinary temperatures using sunlight and air.
In artificial drying, different equipment is used to carry out the drying.
The content of the active substances in medicinal plants is more or less sensitive to sunlight and heat, so that particular attention must be paid to this condition during drying.
I shall give instructions for the methods of drying for each plant, but as a general rule, plant parts containing coloured dyes should not be dried perfectly in the sun, because sunlight has a degrading effect on them. Plant parts containing easily decomposable compounds should not be dried at higher temperatures.
The easiest way to dry them is to spread them out in a thin layer in the open air or in a ventilated attic, either in the sun or in a shady place, and to encourage drying by turning them frequently.
In this case, too, care must be taken to spread the plant parts on a clean floor or tarpaulin, so that dust and dirt do not contaminate the goods. If you are drying roots or cuttings, cut them up for perfect drying.
Natural drying is only suitable for drying small quantities of plants, and artificial drying should always be used for drying large quantities of plants.