The efficacy, function and use of alum

Alum is a product that is widely used in life. It can be said that alum is both a traditional Chinese medicine and a chemical product. It has many benefits to health, but it can also cause disease if eaten too much. Alum has a high detoxification function and is the best choice for clearing heat and eliminating phlegm.

Of course, alum is used in many other places in life, such as food improver and leavening agent for fried dough sticks, but eating too much of it can have a great impact on human health, so it is better for us to eat less of it in daily life.

Alum, also known as white alum, potassium alum, potassium aluminum alum, and potassium alum, is a complex salt of potassium sulfate and aluminum sulfate containing water of crystallization. Colorless cubic crystals, often octahedral in appearance, or forming aggregates with cubes and rhombic dodecahedrons. Sometimes attached to the container wall with the {111} face and shaped like a hexagonal plate. It belongs to the type alum complex salt and has a glassy luster. Density 1.757g/cm3, melting point 92.5℃. It loses 9 molecules of crystal water at 64.5℃ and 12 molecules of crystal water at 200℃. It is soluble in water but insoluble in ethanol. Alum is sour, astringent, cold and poisonous. Therefore, it has antibacterial and astringent effects, and can be used as a traditional Chinese medicine.

What is alum? What are the effects and functions of alum?

Effects of alum :

Eliminate phlegm, dry dampness, stop diarrhea, stop bleeding, detoxify and kill insects. Water purification: AL(OH)3 generated in water can absorb impurities in water and achieve the purpose of water purification.

The role of alum :

Indications: Treat epilepsy, throat congestion, severe phlegm, hepatitis, jaundice, yellow swelling, gastric and duodenal ulcers, uterine prolapse, leucorrhea, diarrhea, epistaxis, mouth and tongue ulcers, hemorrhoids, scabies, water, fire, and insect bites.

Alum, also known as white alum, is a refined product of alum stone. Alum is cold in nature, sour and astringent in taste, and has a strong astringent effect. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that alum has the effects of detoxifying and killing insects, drying dampness and relieving itching, stopping bleeding and diarrhea, clearing heat and eliminating phlegm. Research in recent years has confirmed that alum also has antibacterial and anti-trichomoniasis effects. Some Chinese medicine practitioners use alum to treat diseases such as hyperlipidemia, duodenal ulcers, and hemoptysis caused by tuberculosis.

In addition, alum is also a traditional food improver and leavening agent, and is often used as an additive in the production of foods such as fried dough sticks, vermicelli, and rice noodles. However, since the chemical composition of alum is potassium aluminum sulfate, which contains aluminum ions, excessive intake will affect the body's absorption of iron, calcium and other components, leading to osteoporosis, anemia, and even affecting the development of nerve cells. Therefore, some nutrition experts suggest that we should try to eat less foods containing alum.

Alum is a traditional water purifier and has been widely used by people.

In recent years, it has been discovered that the aluminum contained in alum is harmful to the human body. Long-term drinking of water purified with alum may cause Alzheimer's disease. It is no longer recommended to use alum as a water purifier.

Uses of Alum

Alum as a water purifier:

When alum is dissolved in water, it ionizes to produce Al3+. Al3+ combines with OHˉ produced by the ionization of water to form aluminum hydroxide. The aluminum hydroxide colloid particles carry positive charges and meet the negatively charged mud and sand colloid particles, and the charges of each other are neutralized. The colloid particles that have lost their electric charge will quickly gather together, and the particles will become larger and larger until they finally sink to the bottom of the water. In this way, the water becomes clear and clean.

Alum as a fire extinguishing agent:

The foam fire extinguisher contains about 1 mol/L of alum solution and about 1 mol/L of NaHCO3 (baking soda) solution (as well as a foaming agent), and the volume ratio of the two solutions is about 11:2. The excess amount of alum is to make the baking soda in the fire extinguisher react fully and release enough carbon dioxide to achieve the purpose of extinguishing the fire.

Alum as a bulking agent:

When frying dough sticks (cakes) or puffed foods, if you add baking soda and then alum to the flour, the same amount of baking soda will release twice as much carbon dioxide as baking soda alone. This way, the dough sticks (cakes) will puff up immediately in the hot oil pan, and you will get crispy and delicious dough sticks (cakes).

Alum as medicine:

Alum is cold in nature, sour and astringent in taste, and has a strong astringent effect. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that alum has the effects of detoxifying and killing insects, expelling dampness and relieving itching, stopping bleeding and diarrhea, clearing away heat and eliminating phlegm. Research in recent years has confirmed that alum also has antibacterial and anti-trichomoniasis effects. Some Chinese medicine practitioners use alum to treat diseases such as hyperlipidemia, duodenal ulcers, and hemoptysis caused by tuberculosis.

Other functions :

Alum can also be used to cook mung bean porridge, its main function is to make the mung beans easier to cook.

Alum can also be used to prepare aluminum salts, paints, tanning agents, mordants, papermaking, waterproofing agents, etc.

In life, many children like to eat fried dough sticks, vermicelli and other leavened foods. In fact, these are the application of alum as a food improver and leavening agent. For children, eating too much will affect their normal physical development. Therefore, it is best to let children eat less of this kind of food in daily life.