Eric Brand

I have to say, I love working at Blue Poppy. We have a team of incredibly intelligent and benevolent people working together in a beautiful office overlooking the mountains, and the company feels like a family. Like many practitioners, I came to Chinese medicine because I truly enjoy helping people and making a difference, and no company embodies this holistic spirit quite like Blue Poppy. Even as a new TCM student, I knew that Blue Poppy was working to better the profession and the planet, but now that I work at Blue Poppy I have an even greater appreciation of the depth of this contribution.

Funding Research

The other day I wrote a brief blog about an authentication research project that we are working on. This project was made possible by a generous donation from Blue Poppy to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Blue Poppy has no competing interest in the study (i.e., we don’t sell raw herbs); rather, we are funding the project purely because we know it will have a positive impact on the profession. Ultimately, educating practitioners about herbal safety will protect our scope of practice and allow us all to engage in progressively more advanced traditional and scientific arenas.

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By Eric Brand

This is a brief abstract of a research project that I am working on. This is not an official press release, just a little foreshadowing of what is to come:

Authentication is a multidisciplinary specialty within Chinese herbal medicine that focuses on the correct identification of medicinal products. Over the centuries, many different regional substitutes and adulterants have been introduced into the herbal marketplace, and many herbs that have similar names and appearances are easily confused. To achieve reliable therapeutic results and avoid potentially harmful substitutes, it is essential for Chinese medical practitioners to use correctly identified herbal medicines.

The present study represents a collaborative effort between researchers at the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Hong Kong Baptist University, China Medical University in Taiwan, and NYCC. The study assesses the prevalence of adulterants at U.S. schools of Chinese medicine before and after specialized training is provided in product discernment. Eric Brand, a TCM advisor to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, will collect samples of 24 commonly confused herbal medicines at U.S. schools and will provide training in product discernment to clinic managers and faculty at those institutions. At a one year follow-up visit to each school, samples of the same 24 herbs will be taken to assess the effects of education on the prevalence of adulterants at the institution. In each case, the samples will be de-identified (blinded) and recorded by Roy Upton, the Executive Director of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (Roy will also be doing a parallel project for Western herbal medicines). The samples will then be sent to Prof. Zhao Zhong-Zhen at Hong Kong Baptist University and Prof. Chang Hsien-Cheh at China Medical University for identification and authentication. Profs. Zhao and Chang are well-known specialists in herbal authentication and both are TCM advisors to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Additionally, Prof. Kevin Ergil and Prof. Jason Wright of Finger Lakes School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine of NYCC will be contributing to the study design and methodology. Kevin heads the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s taskforce on safe herbal medicine compounding and Jason is the Chair of Herbal Medicine for the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Background:

In my normal life beyond this research project, I work at Blue Poppy as an herbal medicine and sourcing specialist. This particular research project has been made possible by a generous contribution by Blue Poppy to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia team. Blue Poppy has no competing interests (the project deals with raw herbs, which are not a part of our business); we are simply dedicated to advancing education in the field of Chinese medicine. The AHP team is grateful for Blue Poppy's support in this academic project, and Blue Poppy is honored to have the chance to contribute to this important scientific endeavor.

By Eric Brand

Chinese medicine is expressed through a complex body of technical terms. While an average Chinese person can read the words in a Chinese medical classic or a modern textbook, the meaning is largely incomprehensible if the person hasn’t studied Chinese medicine. While the technical nature of TCM literature is self-evident in the Asian world, in the West we find that people who haven’t studied Chinese often lack an appreciation for the depth of technical terminology in the field. It is obvious to any Chinese layperson that TCM has complex and specialized terminology, and within the Chinese community of educated practitioners, the importance of clear and accurate expression is a given.

Consequently, when the expert community in Asia ponders the globalization of Chinese medicine, significant attention is paid to the issue of terminology. After all, Chinese medicine’s depth of insight cannot reach the outer world unless there is a way to talk about TCM concepts in foreign languages. While Chinese medicine uses more metaphors and has more colorful terminology than biomedicine, the two medical systems are comparable in terms of their academic sophistication and heavy use of specific, specialized terminology.

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By Eric Brand

Pictured above is a collage of different types of ginseng. I’ll probably do future side-by-side photos that illustrate differences in grades and styles of ginseng, for example, comparing red slices, red whole roots, white whole roots, adulterated roots, etc.

In this photo, starting from the top row, left to right, one can see several different types. See this key:

11 22 3 4 5

6 7

1: The two white roots in the top left are Korean-grown white ginseng. These were sourced in Taiwan, they are authentic 4 year old roots that are classified as straight ginseng, from the 2009 harvest. This type is best for boosting fluids and supplementing qi without the warmth of red ginseng.

2: Moving to the right, the next two roots are Japanese Dong Yang Shen. The par-boiling used in their processing causes the outside to be a creamy yellowish-white while the inside is red. Claim to fame is that it tends not to produce heat.

3: The one red ginseng root in this photo is a relatively good grade of Chinese red ginseng. The root is large with a well-developed neck, and its cortex is slightly golden in color, which is often a sign of quality. More warming and stronger for supplementing qi.

4: The thin root with a long neck is half-wild ginseng from Chang Bai Shan (Yi Shan Shen). This type is densely striated with a long, thin neck. It is grown by transplanting roots into the forest. This is better than average white ginseng but it is more expensive.

5: The root at the top right is organically-grown white ginseng that is grown in China from Korean seed. Good quality, reasonable price.

6: The big root at the bottom center is called “da zhua zi,” or “big chicken claw.” This name refers to its gnarled, heavily branched shape. Generally straight roots without whiskers are preferred for normal prescription use, but these big roots with the whiskers intact look nice when soaked in alcohol. This root is classified as organic white Chinese ginseng, grown at the same farm in Jilin as #5 and #7.

7: The root at the lower right is organically-grown white ginseng from China from domestic Chinese seed. Same farm as #5 and #6, but different seed stock.

I have a free webinar at TCM TV today at 12:00pm PST. Here is the link

By Eric Brand

Shi Hu is a yin-supplementing medicinal that is sold in many different grades and qualities. True Shi Hu refers to dendrobium orchid, but in actuality most of what is used as Shi Hu on the market is a tolerated substitute rather than true dendrobium. The substitute pictured above is an authentic medicinal, but it is considered a less expensive and less effective form of Shi Hu. True Shi Hu and its substitute (which is properly called “You Gua Shi Hu,” derived from Ephemerantha fimbriata (Bl.) P.E. Hunt et Summ) are both in the orchid family, but they are from plants in different genera that have significantly different appearances. Generally speaking, the two should be differentiated in trade and in clinical use.

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