Herb Sourcing and Sustainability in Chinese Medicine

Why sourcing matters

Chinese medicine uses a very large number of plant, animal and mineral materials. Where they come from affects three things at once: the survival of species, the quality and safety of what reaches you, and fair treatment of the people who grow and collect them. This page is information only. It does not recommend any product. For the wider issue across traditions, see sustainability, plant sourcing and commercialization of traditional medicine.

Wild collection versus cultivation

Many herbs are cultivated; others are collected wild. A Harvard-led study that tested 334 raw Chinese herb samples collected in China found wild-collected plants had higher contaminant levels than cultivated ones. [1] That is a single sampling study, but it shows sourcing and safety are linked.

The World Health Organization has published "guidelines on good agricultural and collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants". [2] We could only read the title page of that document in this session, not its content, so we do not summarize its rules here.

What CITES is and how it applies

CITES is an international treaty that controls trade in wild species. Species in Appendix I are those endangered and threatened by trade; wild collection could cause their extinction. Species in Appendix II may become endangered if collection is not regulated, or look similar to listed ones. International trade of Appendix I plants is allowed only if they are artificially propagated, and trade in Appendix II requires permits. [3] We could not open CITES's own site (access blocked), so this description comes from a published commentary on the treaty. Check cites.org for the current listings.

Animal ingredients and endangered species

In a laboratory study, DNA sequencing of 15 traditional Chinese medicine products (powders, tablets, capsules, bile flakes and herbal teas) found animal families that include vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species, including Asiatic black bear and saiga antelope, and the authors noted that some ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines are known to include derivatives of trade-restricted species. [4] Animal DNA was rarely declared on the packaging. [4]

• Saiga horn. In a survey of 2,294 Chinese Singaporeans, 19% reported saiga horn as a product they choose most often for themselves or others for fever or "heatiness". Saiga is a Critically Endangered antelope from Central Asia; use in Singapore is legal. [5]
• Pangolin scales. A 2021 systematic review by a Chinese medicine university team found 15 studies of pangolin scale (4 randomized trials), judged the evidence did not support clinical use, and concluded that removing it from the Pharmacopoeia was rational. [6]

This is a place where a fair standard matters: the question is not whether the ingredient is "traditional", but whether the species can be traded legally, whether there is evidence of benefit, and whether the harm to a threatened animal is justified. For these cases the evidence of benefit is weak or absent. We do not recommend any product containing endangered-species ingredients. See animal and mineral ingredients in TCM.

Toxic minerals

Hong Kong lists cinnabar, realgar, arsenic compounds and mercury compounds among its 31 strongly toxic Chinese medicines that may be sold only on a practitioner's prescription. [7] A review of Chinese patent medicines noted cinnabar and calomel as mercury-containing ingredients with a risk of serious mercury poisoning from misuse, overdose or improper storage. [8] We do not recommend products with these ingredients.

Sourcing, quality and substitution

Sourcing and identity are linked: the DNA study above found genera such as Ephedra and Asarum, described as potentially toxic, in products. [4] We describe substitution in adulteration and substitution in Chinese herbal products. The sources we read do not measure how much substitution is caused by shortage of a wild species.

What buyers and practitioners can ask

• Is the species the one named, and is it a CITES-listed species? Does the seller have export or import documents where required?
• Is the material cultivated or wild-collected?
• Can the seller explain how identity and contaminants are checked?
• Can another, non-threatened ingredient be used? Ask a qualified practitioner. See buying Chinese herbs safely.

Also worth knowing

Fair benefit-sharing for communities who collect and grow herbs is an ethical issue we could not document with a source read this session. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia and standards are described at Chinese Pharmacopoeia and quality standards.