A Unique Issue in the Standardization of Chinese Materia Medica: Processing

The Original Source of Modern Research on Chinese Medicinal Materials: Bencao Texts

“…500 C.E. ), Processing Methodology (Pao Zhi Da Fa, 炮炙大法) published in 1662 C.E., and Xiu Shi Guidelines for Processing (Xiu Shi Zhi Nan, 修事指南), written by Zhang Zhongyan in Qing dynasty [3]. Grandfather Lei's Treatise on Medicinal Processing is the first specialized text on medicinal processing.…”

Quality Control for Medicinal Plants

“…Having the correctly identified plants in hand, they have to be further handled in a standardized manner [13]. For this reason, international guidelines have been developed such as Good Sourcing Practice (GSP), Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and Good Clinical Trial Practice (GCTP) [14].…”

Standardization of traditional Chinese medicine and evaluation of evidence from its clinical practice

“…Measures to control impurities and sterility tests are also required in accordance with pharmacopoeias from Europe and the U.S. With regard to safety standards, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is required to test for arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and copper in medicines in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition) in order to further control heavy metals, hazardous materials, impurities, residual solvents, and other components. Many Chinese experts are exploring the standardization of TCM, such as standardized verfication (23), standardized processing (24), and standardized good usage practices (25), with using advanced science and technology . Recently, experts built a combination system to predict the properties of medicines in herbals based on their chemical components (26).…”