By Eric Brand

Yesterday I received a comment on the blog that asked about the CITES-listed status of Mu Xiang and its implications for Chinese medicine. The CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of fauna and flora) topic is interesting and worthy of discussion. Many practitioners of Chinese medicine are ecologically conscious individuals, so we want to make sure that we are not harming the health of the earth by prescribing herbal products.

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Chinese medicine has long had a bad rap because some species of plants and animals have been pushed to the brink of extinction by the demand for medicinal products. Animals such as rhinos and tigers have already been pushed to the absolute limit, and wild populations of many plants such as ginseng, dendrobium, and gastrodia are too depleted to sustain widespread medicinal use. In some cases, even substitutes for endangered species have themselves become endangered or depleted. For example, leopard bone was originally used as a substitute for tiger bone until the leopards themselves became endangered (now dog bone is used). In a similar analogy from the plant world, Dang Shen emerged as a substitute for ginseng but now the wild population is insufficient to meet demand (Dang Shen is not endangered in the wild but cultivated plants now sustain the market). Most practitioners are extremely concerned with avoiding products that pose a threat to the planet’s ecology, as all life depends upon the fundamental balance of nature.

Animal Products

Animal products often represent the most visible category of endangered species in the Chinese medicine world. While the mainstream clinical world has all but eliminated the use of tiger bone and rhino horn, a few threatened animals such as Chuan Shan Jia continue to be used. Many wild animals have become endangered and nearly all the animal products that are currently ok for use from an ecological perspective are farmed. For example, She Xiang and Lu Rong come from animals that are endangered in the wild but are now widely farmed- essentially the only sources of Lu Rong and She Xiang that are commonly available now come from cultivated animals. She Xiang also exists in a synthetic form, and Lu Rong is essentially a byproduct because the antlers of all captive male deer are typically removed for safety. Other animal products such as Shui Niu Jiao and Niu Huang come from animals that are abundantly raised for other purposes beyond medicine.

Animal products are a bit contentious so I am keen to skip ahead to the plant products. However, there are a few animal products that merit discussion. Turtles are often touted as a TCM success story of animal husbandry. The demand for turtle shells originally brought many wild turtles to the brink of extinction, but widespread farming of captive turtles managed to reverse the trend for some key species and now many wild populations are stable and healthy once again. The turtle shells we use in Chinese medicine always come from farm-raised turtles, so items like common Gui Ban and Bie Jia do not put pressure on wild populations (that said, more exotic forms of turtle shell and all sea turtles such as Dai Mao should be avoided because they come from endangered wild species). Gui Ban requires a CITES certificate for international trade. Incidentally, Chinese medicine is only a piece of the larger turtle picture- many turtles are consumed in Chinese restaurants and in the traditional Cantonese dessert known as Gui Ling Gao. Snake cultivation has also been very successful.

Unfortunately, the successful domestication and breeding of many animals has yet to be achieved. Chuan Shan Jia, derived from a pangolin that is also widely hunted for underground trade in exotic meat, is an example of a medicinal product that is occasionally seen in use despite the fact that the animal is endangered and has not yet been successfully domesticated. The clinical use of Chuan Shan Jia is rare but the wild populations require protection and practitioners must be aware of the situation. Pangolin farming has not yet been successful enough to eliminate the use of wild Chuan Shan Jia.

Plant Products

Several CITES-listed species of plants are used in Chinese medicine. Many of the listed plants are in critical condition so their wild forms should not be used. Virtually all of the endangered wild plants used in TCM are now cultivated and their wild forms are extremely rare. Accidental use of wild, endangered plants is not a problem in any way- such products are always sold separately at a premium price through different distribution channels than their standard, cultivated counterparts.

Tian Ma and San Qi are examples of herbs that are thoroughly depleted in the wild environment. Wild San Qi is practically extinct, and wild Tian Ma is exceedingly rare. Tian Ma is cultivated by cell culture and the only “wild” Tian Ma seen on the market is nearly always cultivated Tian Ma that is undernourished and shriveled so that it can pass as a counterfeit of the true wild product.

Mu Xiang is a CITES-listed plant that is endangered in the wild but is now widely cultivated. The true wild roots are rare and they have a distinctive fragrance and shape. Cracks in the root are seen in wild Mu Xiang, and cultivated roots that are manually cut with a knife while the plant is still growing are used as counterfeits. True Mu Xiang is called aucklandia (or saussurea, its old botanical name); it is commonly cultivated in China but it can be difficult to export because it is CITES-listed. At Blue Poppy, we use true Mu Xiang because we are able to acquire a certificate of cultivation from the farm that permits us to import it. Many companies use the substitute Chuan Mu Xiang (Vladimiriae Radix) instead because it is easier to import.

Other plant medicinals that require CITES certificates for trade include Shi Hu, Xi Yang Shen, and Rou Cong Rong. All are widely cultivated and the cultivated products are the main items in common clinical use. Wild Shi Hu and wild Xi Yang Shen can still be found, but they are strictly controlled for trade.

Most plant products that are CITES listed are ethically fine to use because the cultivated products are the only thing that one will encounter (unless one is specifically seeking out rare, expensive forms). However, there are some quirks- for example, only one species of Rou Cong Rong is listed, so most companies declare that the product used is the unlisted species. Another quirk: it is not uncommon for companies based in Taiwan to have problems with importing CITES-listed products into the USA simply because the certificates can be hard to acquire. When the herbs are sent from China to Taiwan, China considers it a domestic transaction and suppliers often refuse to supply CITES certificates because it isn’t considered international trade. This makes it hard for these herbs to be sent from Taiwan to the USA. Such political issues abound, and some herbs like wild Asian ginseng and cordyceps probably qualify as threatened but remain unlisted because of their importance in trade.