TCM Extract Powders and Granules: What to Verify Before Scale-Up

TCM extracts are often sticky, hygroscopic pastes or concentrates, and turning them into powders or granules brings a few recurring difficulties.

Common problems

• Wall sticking in spray drying.
• Moisture pick-up and caking once the product is exposed to air.
• Unstable yield and particle size from batch to batch of extract.
• Heat-sensitive actives.

Choosing a technology

Goal	Technologies to consider
Paste or concentrate straight to powder	Spray drying (often with carriers)
Very heat-sensitive material	Freeze drying, vacuum drying
Granulating the powder for flow	Fluid bed granulator, high-shear granulator
Dry granulation (water-sensitive)	Roller compactor

What to verify at pilot scale

1. Carrier type and ratio, and their effect on sticking and moisture pick-up.
2. Process parameters: inlet temperature, feed concentration, atomization.
3. Product specs: moisture, particle size, flowability, retention of actives.
4. Batch-to-batch repeatability over several runs.

Running your own extract in a trial is more reliable than estimating from experience.