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A Case for Growing Medicinal Herbs Outside of China

Alexis Einolghozati
Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
H101: Introductory Herbology
Professor John Welden
17 December 2022
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Introduction

The use of herbs in Chinese medicine is a complex and highly developed system that
relies on different inherent characteristics within a plant and specific parts of a plant, as well as
special preparation methods for formulas. Typically, between two and seven herbs are
combined for a medicinal effect. This system traditionally relied on wildcrafted herbs, requiring
little to no scientific planning on the part of practitioners to ensure a supply of potent medicinals.
However, the growing demand for these herbs has led to over-harvesting and contamination,
posing risks to their future availability. In response to this issue, this paper will explore the
prospects for the future of Chinese medicinal herbs. It will examine the risks of over-harvesting
and contamination, as well as historical recommendations and exceptions for ideal herb-growing
conditions. The paper will also discuss lessons learned from experiments of growing Chinese
herbs outside of China and the potential for small-scale herb cultivation in non-traditional
locations like Hawaii. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the potency of the herbs outweighs
their location and that precision in resource planning and the adoption of traditional cultivation
principles (such as observation and analysis of a local environment, integrated pest
management, and interplanting) can allow plants to thrive in conditions that emulate the wild.
This bottom-up approach can help ensure a sustainable supply of Chinese medicinal herbs.

Opportunities for Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Plants have sustained other life forms in all world cultures through nourishment and
medicine, but new environmental challenges threaten their existence. Global usage of medicinal
plants remained steady for millennia until technologies like the microscope enabled western
scientists to isolate and analyze individual components of plants. Western medicine has
contributed massive life-saving measures like penicillin, which has saved 200 million lives.
However, despite great strides in life-saving measures, root causes and interrelationships
among ailments are often elusive. Iatrogenic issues, or those caused by the result of treatment
rather than an injury, emerged a century ago. (Harper, 2015) Calculated by new drugs approved
per billion USD, the trajectory of pharmaceutical research is on the decline. (Scannell et al.,
2012) Moreover, the consequences of the industrial revolution have generally not been
favorable for the environment.
In contrast to massive benefits at massive costs is the subtler but widespread traditional
plant medicine, which is still the primary source of healthcare for 80% of the world. (Asiminicesei
et al., 2020) The history of humans using plants as medicine exceeds the length of the historical
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record. Estimates show that between 350,000 and 500,000 different species of plants have
been used medicinally, or 10% of all vascular plant species. (Pimm et al., 2014) While modern
medicine has supplanted traditional, the tide is changing. In the US, life expectancy steadily
increased until 2015, when it began to decline. (Klobucista, 2022) Compare this to the explosion
in the usage of prescription drugs. Between 1988 and 1994, 39.1% of Americans used a
prescription drug in the past 30 days of surveys. In addition, 4.0% had used five or more
prescription drugs in the same timeframe. Compared to 2013-2016, 45.8% had used a single
prescription drug, but the percentage of people using five or more jumped to 11.2%. With an
expensive and somewhat ineffective healthcare system, people would diverge from the
mainstream. 25% of western pharmaceuticals derive from traditional plant medicines. (Ahmad
Khan et al., 2018) However, The direction of traditional methods of medicinal plants changed
with Professor Tu Youyou’s 1971 re-discovery of qinghao. With efficacy rates of more than 90
percent (Hsu, 2006), the isolation of the active substance artemisinin showed that locally-grown
medicine could cure the ails of the local population. As the demand for natural and effective
remedies increases, there is the possibility that prescription drugs will be replaced by more
natural solutions, such as those found in traditional plant medicine.
As healthcare costs increase and efficacy decreases, mainstream medicine is losing its
monopoly. “Alternative” medicine is expanding its reach. Estimates show that $50 billion is spent
on TCM products. (Cyranoski, 2018) Furthermore, in 2018, the World Health Organization
recognized traditional medicine as part of its medical compendium. Terms like Spleen Qi
Deficiency and Liver Qi Stagnation are set to become part of the global medical reference.
(Cyranoski, 2018) Western medicine has progressed in treating the “average,” but Chinese
medicine excels at treating the individual. There are records of more than 80,000 different
herbal formula prescriptions on record (Foster et al., 1992, p. 17) which shows that the variation
in herbal formulas is highly customizable to individual needs. Of course, not all these formulas
are regularly used; 200 commonly prescribed herbs are 80% of the total quantity of herbal
medicine in China. (Pan, 2011) Pharmaceutical drugs require massive resources: a study found
that 98 companies paid, on average, $350 million to develop a single new drug. (Herper, 2013)
Chinese medicine is extremely promising, given its flexibility to treat many diseases with a low
baseline cost, and it introduces new opportunities for farmers to help meet the demand.

Problems of Supply and Contamination with Chinese Herbs

Contamination and extinction from human-related activities threaten the future of

wildcrafted herbs. In considering how to meet this demand, farmers and customers must be
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aware of existing problems with the supply. Namely, this is the decrease in natural herbal
medicine materials and contamination issues of heavy metals and pesticides. Traditionally, wild
herbs are collected by local farmers and sold to local practitioners for their patients. Even today,
up to 90% of herbs originate from the wild. (Schippmann et al.) Although this model has worked
for thousands of years, there are three new challenges for producers and consumers that
threaten the future of Chinese medicinal herbs. The first is that supply has decreased due to
environmental factors like climate change or human activity. Wild herb collectors report that
herbs are decreasing at a rate of 30% per year (Zhao-Seiler, 2013) and reports from 1997
warned that already 8% of medicinal species were facing extinction. (Walter et al., 1998) As of
2020, new estimates show that 13.5% of medicinal species face some threat. (Gowthami et al.,
2021) One of the problems with depending on local assessments of herb collection is that they
are only an estimate; the reality could be in our favor or against it, so presently, planning an
alternative solution for herb cultivation puts us in the best position.
The second issue with wildcrafted herbs is contamination. Non-agricultural activity has led to
heavy metal contamination of soils. Patients who seek out traditional medicinal herbs do so
under the impression that natural treatment has an inherently higher level of safety than
manufactured medicine. While some heavy metals are beneficial to the human body, in excess,
they are toxic, carcinogenic, and cause a host of diseases. (Chen et al., 2021, p. 2) Heavy metal
poisoning remains underreported (Chen et al., 2021, p. 4), as the adverse effects can blend in
with pathological factors that require treatment in the first place. Furthermore, patients taking
herbs for an extended period increase their risk of side effects and even irreversible damage. As
we will see in the next section, daodi herbs are touted as ideal. However, studies show that the
indirect effects of pollution result in wild plants containing more heavy metal contamination than
herbs in cultivation. (Harris et al., 2011) In conservative estimates, studies of 231 samples of
wild-collected herbs from China showed that 69% contained excessive levels of heavy metals
and that while 95% of these cases would not cause immediate concern, the 5% could pose a
material risk to patient health. (Harris et al., 2011) The four primary heavy metals of concern are
cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury. Cultivated herbs show levels of contamination depending
on the region. The provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Sichuan are places of the
industry for electronics and shipping. However, they also contain some of the highest levels of
these four metals compared to anywhere else in China. Herbs from these regions show
contamination rates of 3-5x the maximum safe level, such as cadmium in Angelica dahurica,
lead in Agastache rugosa, arsenic in Lonicera japonica, and mercury in Folium Eriobotrya.
(Chen et al., 2021) Contamination is not limited to the soil but occurs during later harvesting,
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transportation, and packaging phases. The further the herbs are from the patient, the higher the
risk for negative environmental influences.
Another type of contamination happens directly to plants: pesticides. Although natural
pesticides date back to the ancient Sumerians (Andreazza et al., 2015), synthetic pesticides
emerged in the 1930s as a miracle for monocultural farming. These pesticides eradicate pests
and diseases and kill other plants that may compete for resources to increase a farmer’s yield.
From a myopic perspective, the harm of these practices is not apparent. The same studies that
showed heavy metal contamination reported that of 231 samples, 28% showed pesticide
exposure. (Harris et al., 2011) Short-term consumption of pesticide-treated herbs does not
provide immediate danger, but their long-term use shows both local patient harm and global
damage. The last hundred years of use have shown widespread adverse effects on pollinator
populations (Sponsler et al., 2019), the microorganisms that provide high-quality soil (Kalia et
al., 2011), and human health, where an increase in cancer is a direct cause of pesticide use.
(Varghese et al., 2021) Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that new herb producers
commercially grow another type of plant, highlighting the need for education and better growing
methods to reduce the risk of contaminated herbs.
While humanitarian concerns often drive the motivation to enter healthcare, there is
always the possibility of capitalizing on new trends to earn a buck. The regulation of organic
produce is far more diffuse than the consumer appeal of organic products. Studies show that
organic herbs may not be such. Furthermore, in a bid to retain customers to alternative
medicine, the addition of taste enhancers like sweeteners misleads consumers. Another risk
that lies with farmers is their economic sustainability, and a quick return in a niche market
creates the necessity for good yields. Finally, the possibilities of pesticides, contamination, and
mislabeling of Chinese medicinal herbs present an enormous risk to an emerging market with
only budding mainstream trust.

The Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herb Cultivation

The Chinese medicinal herb production chain generally starts with cultivation, followed
by processing stages of removing non-medicinal plant parts, then procuring raw materials, then
secondary processing like packaging, then arriving at wholesale and retail markets. While the
growing of herbs has historically been from the wild, there is a long tradition of processing and
preparing herbs called pao zhi 炮制. Much has been written about the ideal and optimal ways to
strengthen medicinal potency after their collection. However, the recent threats of contamination
and extinction force us to shift our gaze further upstream to the initial growing phase. Ancient
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Chinese sources describe the ideal growing conditions for medicinal herb potency, now known
as daodi 道地. We will examine the classic texts to derive principles of growing Chinese herbs.
We will also consider herbs that have been daodified, i.e., adopted into Chinese medicine to the
extent that their origin is relatively unimportant given the right conditions.

Guidance from Ancient Times: Daodi

From the earliest times of herbal usage, the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing advises the value
of production region, authenticity, and age of each medicinal herb. (Yang, 2008) Shen Nong, the
divine farmer of prehistoric times, was known for collecting and testing local plants. He is
alleged to have toured the Tai Yi and collected the “thousands of things the land
produced—herbs, stones, bones, flesh, hearts, segments, skins, hairs, and feathers. [As a
result,] he attained knowledge about what they could rule and their five flavors. Each day he
was poisoned 70 times.” (Yang, 2008, p. 393) The text lists three classifications for 365
medicinal materials and 237 herbs based on efficacy and toxicity. His valuation of what is
essential for an herb derives from its location in most circumstances. Apart from its anecdotal
evidence, one potential criticism of this strategy is that he does not outline principles that we can
use to validate the evidence, thus making it difficult to assess the reliability of his claims.
Implicitly, we can gather that altitude, humidity, and proximity to a water source have
importance. Herbs with location prescriptions include mountains and valleys for kong qing, the
soil of plains for shui yin 水银 (mercury), rivers and valleys for wei rui, pools and swamps for
chang pu 菖蒲, and high mountains or low valleys for gong zhi. Some herbs like zi shi had
greater specificity, where it could only be gathered from the valleys of Mount Tai, or ceng qing,
which comes from the south side of the famous mountains in the Shu prefecture. The location
had such consequences for herbs like yu yu liang 禹余糧 / 禹余粮 that a different location
indicated a different herb altogether. Also, in prehistoric times is a tale that says the best
tangerines are produced south of the river Huai. The tale states that while the trees’ leaves are
similar, the fruits of the north will be bitter. (Zhao et al., 2012, p. 478) The environmental factors
impact the nature of produce. Assuming the weather patterns have not dramatically changed
from the time of this tale, modern scientists observe that the Huai basin’s northern portion is
defined by its propensity to drought. (Sun et al., 2017) The principles we can extrapolate from
the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, and ancient examples are: mountains and valleys indicate
altitude and perhaps solar UV intensity; pools and swamps vary in humidity; proximity to water
impacts minerals and soil composition.
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The subsequent significant text for optimal herb collection is the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu or
the Collection of Commentaries on the Classic of the Materia Medica. Tao Hong-Jing compiled
this work between 480 and 498 AD, taking the original text of Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing and
adding his commentary in red ink. He expands the list of herbs and records the application and
production regions for 730 herbs. In agreement with the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, Tao
Hong-Jing provides specific locations like zi shi, which is then described as one of the 43 herbs
that best grow in the valleys of Mount Tai. (Baker, 2021) Tao Hong-Jing quantifies the benefit of
medicinals based on their source and development stage into categories like “good,” “quite
good,” “fairly good,” “excellent,” and “best” for forty of the most common medicinal plants. (Liu et
al., 2020, p. 5) The subsequent texts expand the list of known medicinals, their applications,
illustrations, production methods, and processing regions. Central works like the Xin Xiu Ben
Cao, a 54-volume work produced by 20 contributors of the Tang Dynasty in 659 AD, are lost, but
later editions indicate documentation of 850 medicinals. (Liang et al., 2017) Both texts also
share a similar emphasis on the importance of the production region for medicinal herbs. Ben
Cao Jing Ji Zhu and Beiji Qian Jin Fang state that medicinals grown in other regions will not
have the same effect as those in their appropriate region. This idea suggests that the location of
the herbs is a crucial factor in their effectiveness and quality. However, a potential criticism of
this emphasis on production region is the lack of scientific evidence to support these claims.
While the texts provide anecdotal evidence and traditional wisdom on the topic, they do not
provide concrete data or new information to support their assertions. Additionally, the accuracy
and reliability of the information provided in the texts may be questionable, given the limitations
of the knowledge and technology available at the time they were written. Overall, while the Ben
Cao Jing Ji Zhu and the Xin Xiu Ben Cao are significant texts in the history of traditional
Chinese medicine, the opinion of the author is that the conditions of a location are important, but
if those conditions are possible to recreate, there is nothing inherent in one region that cannot
be emulated in another part of the world.
From the same era, The Beiji Qian Jin Fang or Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold pieces
determines that medicinals grown in other regions would have “half” the effect. (Zhao et al.,
2012, p. 477) The author is allegedly Sun Simiao, who uses the term dao to distinguish
provinces and production regions. New iterations of herbal texts lack meaningful variation in the
framework and content, but the delivery method of the media evolved. The 973 AD Kai Bao Ben
Cao listed 984 medicinals and, as the first ben cao written after the development of the printing
press, the first to be distributed en masse. Another government commission is the 973 AD Kai
Bao Ben Cao which listed 984 medicinals. We can only speculate that the broader distribution of
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the material led to a jump in medicinal materials. The subsequent major work is the 1082 AD
Materia Medica Arranged According to Pattern. With 1,746 records (Zhao et al., 2018), almost
twice as many medicinals were analyzed in one hundred years than in the previous thousand
years.
A deviation in the media of information transfer is the Zhen Zhu Nang Yao Xing Fu, or
Precious Drus Rhyme, sometimes known as the Lei Gong Yao Xing Fu or Lei’s Nature of Drugs
in Songs, as recorded in the 1300s. The songs go into detail for 90 medicinals and record 1,406
substances. More importantly, for the scope of this paper, it is the first recorded usage of the
term daodi 道地 that builds on Sun Simiao’s usage of “dao” to confer a plant to a specific region.
(谢竹藩, 2019) The first usage of dao 道 emerged much earlier during the Han Dynasty. It meant
a circuit where regions were divided into administrative districts, according to Hou Han Shu in
the 5th century AD. (Liu et al., 2020) The second character 地 refers to earth or land. Although
daodi is the typical usage, the reverse of the characters as didao 地道 is an acceptable
synonym and the more common of the two terms, translating to authenticity. Compared to the
previous texts, we see again the emphasis on location and reliance on a tradition to establish
the justification for daodi.
The term daodi links the value of the production region with the potency of an herb. The
standardization of the label of a region solves a problem that arises as a consequence of the
length of Chinese history, where geographical place names may exist for centuries or only
decades. From the Ming Dynasty on, works like the Ben Cao Pin Hui Jing Yao, compiled by the
Imperial Hospital, formally adopted the term daodi. The subsequent development came with the
Ben Cao Gang Mu 本草綱目 or the Compendium of Materia Medica led by Li Shizhen 李時珍
(1518–93). This encyclopedia is regarded as “the most complete and comprehensive medical
book ever written in the history of traditional Chinese medicine” and, in 2012, was recognized as
a UNESCO world cultural heritage text. (Ben Cao Gang Mu ( Compendium of Materia Medica) |
Silk Roads Programme, n.d.)) After consulting 800 books and hands-on fieldwork to analyze
herbal samples, Li developed a novel 16-part classification system that places herbs in
categories like “herbs growing in the mountains,” “herbs growing in wet places,” “herbs growing
in water,” and so on. (Liang et al., 2017) Volume 2 of the Ben Cao Gang Mu, entitled
“Geographical and Administrative Designations,” is unique from the previous texts, which all
seem to be missing any further elaboration on environmental principles. This volume expands
the notion of the principles we identified earlier (altitude, humidity, soil composition) from the
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing: the soil, climate, and environmental factors are material influences on
the therapeutic potential of an herb. (Shizhen et al., 2021) This volume lists a total of 2,463
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place names ranging from 1,139 administrative divisions, 270 mountains or mountain ranges,
213 geographic regions, 108 territories, 86 rivers, lakes, or ponds, to places that no longer exist,
places from mythology, and names that have been lost to history. (Hua et al., 2016) Chapter 5 of
Volume II of the Ben Cao Gang Mu discusses water and soil: 水爲萬化之源，土爲萬物之母。飲
資于水，食資于土。飲食者，人之命脉也，而營衛賴之。 “Water is the origin of myriad
transformations; the soil is the mother of myriad items. The natural endowment acquired
through drinking is that of water; the natural endowment acquired through eating is that of soil.”
(Shizhen et al., 2021) The text lists types of water, such as the heaven group’s 13 types and the
earth group’s 30. Although not all specific for herb growing, the takeaway is that each different
type of water has a specific purpose; therefore, the water that an herb grows near has
significance to how it grows.
The historical importance of daodi or production regions has yet to make it into the
textbooks. There are no references to daodi in popular herb-focused books like Chinese Herbal
Medicine Formulas & Strategies by Scheid et al. or The Traditional Chinese Medicine Materia
Medica Clinical Reference& Study Guide by Holmes et al. Broader, clinically-focused books like
Foundations of Chinese Medicine by Maciocia or Acupuncture: A Comprehensive Text
translated by O’Connor and Bensky also have no mention of ideal growing regions for herbs. On
the one hand, the awareness of herbs begins when they appear in the clinic and are beyond the
scope of these texts. However, the holistic nature of Chinese medicine should lead us to
consider the source of our medicine. Characterizing an herb as potent from its daodi has value
in historic times as a cultural preference. (Lei et al., 2018) With technological-based alternatives
like meta-analyses of herb efficacy and randomized controlled trials, we should test the claims
that have been historically accepted. While the technology resulting from the industrial
revolution may play a part in the decline of environmental conditions, we should at least try to
use the positive aspects of that technology to continue the herbal tradition.

Herbs Adopted into Chinese Medicine

Two sometimes competing ideals influence the perceived quality of a product: the origin
where it is traditionally grown and the method in which it is produced. Some items, notably
champagne or certain cheeses, are seen as only being genuine when produced in a particular
region. When the location becomes part of the name, in the case of Manchego cheese, there is
a negative influence on the role of organic production. People prefer the Manchego origin over
potentially higher-quality production. (Bernabéu et al., 2010) However, the medicinal nature of
herbs seems to change the nature of their demand, and potency has a higher cultural value. (Di
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Lei et al., 2018) The idea of harvesting herbs in their original, authentic, and optimal location is
slightly romanticized; historical texts have created an ideal of Chinese herbs having grown in
specific areas for all time. On the contrary, medicinal herbal history has long incorporated
“foreign” herbs to the extent that they have taken on the characteristic of daodi. Most of the
classical texts examined have a geographic bias toward the growing zones of eastern China
due to the ranges of the Han, Northern & Southern, and Ming dynasties. However, we must
place the context of Chinese civilization within major processes like maritime (Buell, 2019) and
Silk Road trading. In that case, we can uncover the ex-situ origins of herbs now considered
local. For example, the Ben Cao Gang Mu identifies a location called Ai Zhou 愛州, which acted
as an administrative holding in Vietnam. Species like Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalias belerica,
and Terminalia chebula are assigned to Ai zhou but probably came from India, Indonesia, and
Thailand, respectively. (Shizhen et al., 2021, p. 28) These herbs were sourced outside of
another location; obviously, there is no hesitation from the medical perspective to use them for
treatment. Others like Carthamus tinctorius (hong [lan] hua 紅藍花) (Linfu et al., 2016, p. 406)
and Celosia argentea (qing xiang zi 青葙) (Linfu et al., 2016, p. 420) are mentioned in the Ben
Cao Gang Mu, despite originating outside of China. Furthermore, the 2010 edition of the
Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists 616 medicinal herbs, where more than 25% originate from two or
more sources, thus calling into question daodi as a strict requirement. (Zhao et al., 2012, p. 478)
Given the integration of non-daodi herbs into Chinese medicine, there are some worth noting
that have taken on daodi-like authenticity to a region.
The history of cinnamon qualifies it as one of the longest-used medicinal plants. Several
species of Cinnamomum exist. While the Romans often reported that cinnamon originated from
China, their variety was likely Cinnamomum zeylanicum from sources obscured by the Arab
traders who brought them. Cinnamomum cassia guizhi, or Chinese cassia or cinnamon,
originates in southern China, outside the historical range of the early major dynasties.
Nevertheless, 18th-century Vietnamese physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong considered it one of the
traditional “four tonical medicinal sources” along with ginseng, budding antler, and aconite.
(Ravindran, 2003) At least two parts of the plant are medically important for Chinese medicine.
Cinnamomum cassia bark, also known as the cortex cinnamomi or rougui 肉桂 and warms the
interior. The dried twig, ramulus cinnamomi, is guizhi 桂枝 and releases the exterior. The Ben
Cao Gang Mu lists gui 桂 but offers corrections for the historical origin of variations of gui. In the
Tang Ye Ben Cao, Wang Haogu lists guan gui 官桂 and cites an earlier text, the Ben Cao Tu
Jing, for the name. The implication here is that guan 官 refers to the specific region of Guan
Zhou 觀州. Li Shizhen takes Haogu’s explanation that changing 觀 to 官 was done to simplify
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the number of strokes to write the character for that region to point out that there never was a
region in the alleged province. Instead, Li explains that guan 官 derives from jin guan 今觀.
Thus, guan gui does not indicate the geographic origin of the gui, but that the administrative
officials 官 received higher quality gui. (Linfu et al., 2016, p. 24) We can conclude that while the
location is key, the potency of a medicinal is more important and that there is not necessarily a
causal relationship between where an herb grows and its quality.
The reality of modern herb cultivation shows a shift outside of daodi. Since 2002, the
Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) for Traditional Chinese Medicinals materials has coordinated
with researchers and pharmaceutical companies to grow herbs in new locations. For example,
Corni fructus or shan zhu yu 山茱萸 falls under the “stabilize & bind” category. While it has
traditionally been grown in Zhejiang’s Linan and Chunan areas, large-scale production sites are
operating in Henan and Shaanxi. (Zhao et al., 2012, p. 479) These herbs are still marketed as
daodi, which demonstrates that production within China is enough of a qualifier for authenticity.
Expanding the boundaries is Aucklandiae lappae radix or mu xiang 木香, which is used to
regulate qi. Originating from India and Myanmar, this herb is historically known as guang mu
xiang, indicating that it arrived in China’s Guangzhou province. Its primary cultivation site
became the Yunnan province, where the name changed to yun mu xiang. The compounds that
provide the medicinal benefits found in muxiang are costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone.
When comparing the results of these compounds between south Asian mu xiang and yun mu
xiang, the Yunnan variety showed higher values than the natively grown mu xiang. (Liang et al.,
2005) Another example is saffron or xi hong hua. Having been introduced around the 3rd
century, it has become a daodi herb. (Zhao et al., 2012) We can determine that a specific region
does not limit plant potency and, given enough time, can become culturally equivalent to other
native medicinals.
A more recent immigrant to Chinese herbal medicine is Panax quinquefolius, also known
as xi yang shen or American ginseng. Cultivation sites exist for American ginseng in Jingyu, in
the Jilin province but it is still primarily grown between the Appalachians and the Ozarks. As one
of the highest-valued herbs, it can reach prices of $9000 per pound. (Roberts, 2022) Ginseng, in
the forms of Radix Ginseng or ren shen and Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae or dang shen, has
long been prized in Chinese medicine for its many uses. (Scheid et al., 2015) The introduction
of American ginseng came in the 18th century. After observation of ginseng in Manchuria, the
French priest Father Jartoux documented the physical description and location of where
ginseng grew. Later, in 1716, Father Joseph Francis Lafitau discovered a similar plant in
Montreal (Persons 1994), which was eventually brought to the Chinese imperial court.
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Nowadays, despite its long cultivation history, the market has deemed wild ginseng superior,
and “roots that look wild sell as high as wild.” (Lunsford, 2017) The illusion of cultivation may not
have medical importance, but substitution does. There has yet to be a clear consensus on how
species of ginseng can substitute for one another (Stefanovic et al., 2002), and further research
is needed. On the one hand, daodi medicinal materials are supposedly less toxic, (Liu et al.,
2020, p. 8) but on the other hand, the effect of herbs might also vary. While the Chinese P.
ginseng is a warming herb, P. quinquefolius has a cooling effect. Daodi, in this case, serves a
purpose for toxicity, as it relates to misuse, as it would not be recommended to substitute a
cooling herb for a warming one. While these differences are significant, the lesson is that any
new herb’s effects should be understood before it is used but not avoided altogether.
American ginseng is in such demand that it is almost exclusively exported from the US to
China and is recognized by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a species “not necessarily threatened with extinction, but for
whom trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.”
(Schafer, 2011, p. 68) The ongoing assimilation of American ginseng into modern Chinese
medicine offers some conclusions and presents some opportunities for the future. First,
American ginseng adds to the evidence that markets place more value on potency than origin
for Chinese medicinal herbs. Given the seemingly endless demand for ginseng, we stand at a
unique point where we could influence the survival of a medicinal. In the US, 19 states produce
ginseng, and some, like Kentucky, already require a license to be a ginseng dealer. (Roberts,
2022) While this method protects ginseng, it encourages a boom-and-bust mentality among
farmers that we see with other superfood fads like goji berries, kale, and spirulina. The benefit of
this massive demand provides the possibility for farmers to enter a new market. However, there
is no guarantee of long-term demand. When a new trend like American ginseng emerges,
resources must quickly be devoted to it. This event puts the herbal supplier organizations in a
reactive state where the benefits of establishing licensure and other regulations are lost when
demand disappears.
If we evaluate the utility of daodi as a variable in herb production, there is no shortage of
examples demonstrating the perception of higher quality. The historical discussion around daodi
has been anecdotal, and we should reframe the problem outside of theoretical potency. While
modern technology allows us to analyze individual components, we should not lose sight of the
forest for the trees. We may think we understand how individual components work, but the
development of Chinese herbal formulas has shown us that the whole medicinal effect is greater
than the sum of its parts. Modern technology is continuing to throw light on how plants produce
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medicinal benefits. However, the need to supply medicinals sustainably in the face of a
depleting and often-contaminated source is more pressing. Chinese medicine is not set in
stone, and our environments may be different from those of Shen Nong. The available amount
of plant material that awaits medical understanding has also shifted dramatically. Southwest
China, for example, has many traditions that are still awaiting further analysis from a
phytochemical perspective. (Liu et al., 2016) Daodi shows its value as a historical variable to
assess the quality of herbs prior to methods of analysis like gas chromatography. It is our
starting point that provides us with the principles to build a new system of high-potency herb
cultivation.

Lessons from Growing Chinese Herbal Medicines Outside of Daodi

From the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing and the Ben Cao Gang Mu, we have identified the
following variables to grow high-quality herbs: altitude, solar intensity, humidity, and soil
composition. This section considers projects that grow Chinese medicinal herbs outside of
China and the computational methods devised to improve herb potency. The optimal examples
to guide us would have correctly-identified high-quality seeds grown in the proper soil, given the
correct amounts of water, sunshine, and fertilizer, and would provide details about the time to
harvest and ratios of fresh herb to dried. Unfortunately, the literature needs more
comprehensive studies on ex-situ Chinese herbal medicine cultivation. Another gap in the
research is the understanding of the interrelationships of plant growth; the ecology of plants
should be a necessary feature of planning if we wish to design an integrative and sustainable
system.

Herb farming requires significant resources

A pilot project in Germany featured in a 2007 article from the Bavarian State Research
Center for Agriculture attempted to grow commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs. The overall
progress was small but positive. They found that the primary problems of growing herbs ex-situ
were as follows. First, inaccuracy in botanical identification led to mislabeled varieties. For
example, “only a few” Bupleurum chinense or chai hu plants were identified as the B. chinense
species. (Bomme et al., 2005) When herbs were correctly identified, they showed almost across
the board to match the quality of their Chinese counterparts. (Bomme et al., 2007) Earlier, we
learned that daodi herbs are anecdotally reputed to have lower toxicity. In the German study,
two herbs noted to accumulate the heavy metal cadmium, Artemisia and Sigeseckia, were
 14 of 26

found to exceed the safe level, despite being grown in low-cadmium fields. (Bomme et al., 2007,
p. 600) Thus, another variable remaining discovery explains why daodi samples of Artemisia
and Sigeseckia naturally retain less cadmium. Another important factor in considering a replica
project is that these lessons come after eight years of institutions and individuals researching 16
herbs. In this type of project, the resources-to-plant ratio is exponentially higher than in the wild.
Assuming that these processes become more efficient over time, there is still a high cost
associated with herb cultivation in this model.

Herb cultivation can be unpredictable by region

Three farms have begun experiments in the US with more herbs: Chinese Medicinal
Herb farm in Petaluma, CA, run by Peg Schafer; High Falls Gardens in upstate New York, run
by Jean Giblette; and Mountain Gardens in North Carolina, run by Joe Hollis. The general
approach of these farms has been to organically assess the demand for products by
communicating with local acupuncturists and, considering their own farm’s sustainability, not to
grow herbs that are invasive to the region. These farms have survived economically, but that is
only sometimes the case.1 The most instructive lessons come from Peg Schafer’s book The
Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm: A Cultivator’s Guide to Small-Scale Organic Herb Production.
She started with 250 Asian herbs and after ten years of experimental trials at her farm,
developed profiles for 79 plants that both grow well in her region and are in demand, thus
promising for production. The emphasis of this guide is on how to grow these plants, not the
data behind the decision-making in getting from 250 plants to 79, so this level of evidence is
expert opinion. While there is the benefit of the length of the study and the economic interest in
these plants for them to remain in cultivation, there is limited generalizability for regions outside
of Petamula. For example, one species not profiled is Leonurus heterophyllos, also known as
Chinese motherwort or yimucao 益母草. This herb is often used as a way to regulate blood and
for gynecological issues. In Petaluma, Schafer notes that it has invasive tendencies. Another
expert opinion from Jean Giblette shows that in the colder environment of upstate New York, it is
not invasive. (Schafer, 2011, p. 73) Without a clear indication of why this is, there is no principle
that we can extrapolate to guide us in how to grow the most commonly used herbs outside of
China.

1
See Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine as a recent example
 15 of 26

Precision planning

The introduction of statistical modeling in Chinese medicine aims to extract meaningful

principles from data. Insofar as the application to herbs, research has focused on quality control,
analysis of the geographic origin, identification of medicinal properties, and investigation of
pharmacodynamics (Chen et al., 2022). The Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
developed the Global Medicinal Plant Geographic Information System (GMPGIS) to identify
suitable environments for medicinal plants. The GMPGIS database, which includes information
on over 240 medicinal species and ecological variables such as soil types and climatic
conditions, can generate tables of potential growing regions. However, the limited sampling data
can lead to inaccuracies in the GMPGIS's predictions. For example, the limited number of soil
types may result in poor performance unless an expert, traditional opinion is used to make the
final decision. In 2019, a study used unsupervised learning models to calculate the Euclidean
distance between climatic and soil factors, improving the accuracy of the GMPGIS's predictions.
The study focused on saffron (Crocus sativus), a herb with high economic and medicinal value,
also known as fanhonghua 李时珍 in Chinese. The conclusion of this study was promising: the
model predicted a high correlation to saffron thriving in areas where it is already growing.
However, there are some limitations to a study of this nature. Given that it is a single study
analyzing a single plant, there is no generalizability because we already understand the regions
where saffron grows.
Furthermore, the weakness of their methodology is that it is unverified. The parameters
used were what the researchers considered to be necessary, but the results did not objectively
verify this. Future iterations would need more plants across more regions to determine the value
of parameters like soil or water. This study identifies which areas are suitable for certain plants,
but the challenge for most cultivators is the reverse: which plants are suitable for their area. If
the starting point is an interest in a specific region, we could use the variables used in the study
to find the closest region to ours and then find more data on plants. While this is helpful, we can
already do this with lower-tech solutions like temperature bands and guides for watering or sun
intensity. A study like this helps to be super accurate, but based on the evidence, there is no
massive gain. As a result, the evidence for complex mathematical models is not a convincing
reason to change how we grow herbs.
 16 of 26

Natural fostering provides the best chance for herb cultivation

An example demonstrating the effectiveness of more traditional cultivation methods

comes from a 2015 review by Li et al. In the article, they review three modes of production for
herbs: wild collection, natural fostering, and cultivation. Wild collection is harvesting herbs
directly from the wild, as was done in the times of Shennong to now. The findings indicate that
the existing trade is unsustainable based on the number of countries and species now in
demand. A particularly memorable example is the commonly used wild licorice or zhigancao,
whose cultivation destroys 10 square meters surrounding it, which wipes out neighboring plants
and destroys the soil (Li et al., 2015, p. 2) Natural fostering imitates the natural environment of
where herbs grow, requiring some planning and labor but not the demands of full-time
cultivation. A key finding is that potency of herbs in these conditions competes with or exceeds
that of wild collection. For example, a medicinal quality of Ranunculus ternatus is its
polysaccharide content. Wild-collected samples are usually considered potent at 14%, while the
natural fostering method produced samples of 10%. Another measure of potency is its amino
acids, where the natural fostering samples were found to be up to 3% more potent than the wild
samples. (Li et al., 2015, p. 3) Cultivation, the final method, is described as the best way to
satisfy market demand and is reflected in the increase of land used for cultivation in China.
From the 1950s to present, the amount of land used increase from 400,000hm2 to
9,330,000hm2. While some species like ginseng are exclusively cultivated, there are high
demands of labor and resources, while potency measures are inferior. (Li et al., 2015, p. 3)
Review about natural fostering. Explain the study; where does it fall on hierarchy of evidence;
what is the possibility for generalizability; any critiques. The middle of the road solution that may
be “just right” is natural fostering. When comparing measures of fertilizer, pesticides, employees,
and equipment required to plant potency and volume, natural fostering provided equally potent
plant that resulted in a higher net income for local cultivators without posing the usual risk of
ecological damage. (Li et al., 2015, p. 7) As a review, this falls higher on the scale of evidence
hierarchy, except that the authors didn’t go into their methodology so their examples may not be
representative of all species currently in wild, semi-wild, or cultivated conditions. However, as a
result the environmental impossibility of continuing with wild collection, the study provides
evidence that when given the option between natural fostering and cultivation, natural fostering
is the overall better solution.
Important within herb production that usually does not exist in monocropping herb
cultivation is interplanting. There is opportunity for research on how wild or semi-wild plants
depend on each other. An example at the extreme end of this concept is sandalwood, which can
 17 of 26

only survive with a host plant. Host plant relationships refer to the interactions between a plant
and the organisms that live on or in it. These relationships can be mutually beneficial, with both
the plant and the organism benefiting from the interaction, or they can be harmful to one or both
parties. For example, some insects, such as aphids, feed on the sap of plants, causing damage
to the plant's tissues and potentially reducing its growth and productivity. In turn, the plant may
produce chemicals to deter the insects, or it may attract predators that feed on the insects,
helping to protect the plant from damage.
Other host-plant relationships are more beneficial for both parties. For example, some
plants, such as legumes, have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live on
their roots. The bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that the plant can use for
growth, while the plant provides the bacteria with a safe and nutrient-rich environment. This
mutual relationship helps the plant to thrive, and it also helps to improve the fertility of the soil.
Overall, host-plant relationships are complex and varied, and they play a crucial role in the
health and productivity of plants. Understanding these interrelationships between organisms is
essential in the design of a natural fostering cultivation system.
By examining the lessons learned from projects of growing herbs outside of China, we
will gain a starting point for small-scale cultivation. What remains to be understood is the
difference in important between environmental factors like soil and water, or interplanting, or
something else. Given that the sophistication of Chinese herbal formulas relies on combining
herbs, there is a logical principle that we should attempt interplanting and measure potency.

Hawaii-Grown Herbs

Hawaii presents a unique opportunity for herb cultivation. It is one of the most
ecologically diverse places on earth, with four of the five major Köppen classification zones.
Near the tropical latitudes, it also provides a year-round growing season and lack of frost that
the rest of the continental US doesn’t have. As an experiment, I grew thirteen different herbs in
Waialua on O’ahu. Short of advanced statistical modeling, the inclusion criteria for herbs is
based on temperature and solar intensity. Based on an analysis of four Chinese provinces at a
similar latitude, herbs with a likelihood of growing in Waialua come from Hainan, Guangdong,
Guangxi, and some areas of Yunnan.
 18 of 26

Avg High Avg Low Growing Degree Solar Energy

Region Temp Temp Days (kWh)

Waialua 79-86 65-73 9101 4.3-7.6

Guangdong (Hong
Kong) 66-89 57-82 9065 4.0-5.6

Guangxi (Lianjiang) 67-90 53-79 8510 4.1-5.5

Hainan (Sanya
Phoenix) 78-88 66-80 10454 4.1-6.2

Yunnan (Baise city) 68-92 47-77 8028 3.5-5.8

Comparison of temperature ranges, growing degrees, and solar intensity among Waialua and
select regions of China.

The Yi and Dai people have traditional medicine styles marginalized by Han culture and
modern medicine. However, these styles are sustainable. Some commonly used herbs in Yi
medicine include huoxiang, niubangzi, and aihao (Gao et al., 2019). Dai medicine, which exists
outside of the traditional compendium, may be a potential option for Hawaii due to its
geographic similarity (Tsai, 2019). While there has been no research on interplanting and ideal
soil conditions for these regions, I used herb lists from these regions for my first trial. I also
included herbs that were already growing on the farm as well as commonly used herbs from the
Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s pharmacy. The table below shows the
scientific name, common names, pinyin usage, and germination and survival rates of these
herbs.
 19 of 26

Scientific name Common Name Pinyin Germinated? Survived?

Ocimum sanctum Tulsi or holy basil Shengloule Yes 95%

Coix lacryma Job’s tears Yiyiren Yes 90%

Dolichos lablab Hyacinth bean Baibiandou Yes 90%

Withania somnifera Ashwagandha Shiuqie Yes 50%

Carthamus tinctorius Safflower Honghua Yes 50%

Ziziphus jujube Jujube Dazao Yes 50%

Agastache rugosa Korean mint Huoxiang Yes 50%

Lycium goji Goji or wolfberry Gouqizi Yes 25%

Arctium lappa Japanese burdock Niubangzi Yes 20%

Andrographis paniculata Green chiretta Chuanxinlian No 0%

Crataegus pinnatifida Chinese hawthorn Shanzha No 0%

Belamcanda chinensis Blackberry lily Shegan No 0%

Artemisia argyi Chinese mugwort Ai ye or moxa No 0%

In the first step of this experiment, I sprouted seeds to determine viability and observe
which seedlings were susceptible to pests and disease. I planted approximately 10-20 seeds
per species in sterilized soil in a shaded environment with some protection from pests and birds.
Of the thirteen herbs, four did not germinate after ten weeks. One Belamcanda chinensis
seedling did appear but was eaten. Cold stratification can improve germination, so I will include
these herbs again in another phase after storing them in the refrigerator for three to four
months. Of the nine herbs that germinated, three performed exceptionally well: Tulsi, Job’s
tears, and hyacinth bean. While Tulsi and hyacinth were already growing on the farm, Job’s
tears were a new addition. It is grown in Hawaii under the name pu’ohe’ohe and is also known
as pearl barley. This will be interesting for future potency tests, as yiyiren is often substituted
with other varieties of barley.2 The moderately successful plants were safflower, jujube, Korean

2
Personal communication with Dr. Low
 20 of 26

mint, and goji berry. Safflower and Korean mint are usually harvested after one season, while
jujube takes three years to produce fruit. (Schafer, 2011, p. 42) Goji berry takes two to three
years to produce fruit, but it does not always bear fruit in Hawaii. Japanese burdock, or
niubangzi, was the least successful plant. It is grown by the Yi people in a region similar to
Waialua, but according to Peg Schafer’s cultivation guide, it is highly invasive in USDA zones
4-10. (Schafer, 2011, p. 49) Waialua is in zone 12b, with a minimum winter temperature of 55
degrees Fahrenheit, while zones 4-10 experience temperatures ranging from -30 to -40 degrees
Fahrenheit. While hardiness zones are not always reliable indicators of what will grow in a given
region, the success of niubangzi among the Yi people suggests that potential invasiveness may
depend on geography and that plants can behave in unpredictable ways."
This project has two planned subsequent phases based on the principles outlined earlier
in the paper. The first is to extend the experiment with the successful plants. Based on the
Chinese formula principle that combining individual herbs provides a more substantial
therapeutic effect, the next step is to transfer the seedlings to the soil in arrangements that
promote the benefits of interplanting. The potential risks of these steps involve pests, while the
benefits would be absorbing more nutrients from the soil. There are recommendations from Peg
Schafer’s guide from her experience to systematize the best combination of possibilities. As
another approach, gathering the most commonly used formulas to grow herbs in a controlled
trial of individual planting versus based on medicinal formulas would be helpful. Another phase
would be the first phase of new herb cultivation. Peg Schafer has compiled the top 50 Asian
Medicinal Plants for the Hawaiian Islands and “screened for economical interest.”3 Similar to the
experiment discussed in the paper, we should grow more herbs to assess their viability for the
region and refine planting arrangements.
As a long-term goal, it would be helpful to identify any patterns based on the plants
themselves to help predict their ability to thrive in a new environment. In the example of host
plants, there is limited research to draw on. However, if we shift environments from temperate to
tropical, we can observe essential differences in plant behavior. In tropical soils, where soils are
generally poorer than temperate soils, (Mubaya et al., 2020) host plants are more likely to occur
to help plants adapt to the changing availability of organic material. There is a significant
opportunity to research plant behavior as it relates to new environments and how they relate to
each other, which could yield valuable principles beyond the tropical environment.

3
Personal communication
 21 of 26

Conclusion

The evidence suggests that Chinese medicine highly values herbs' origin and
effectiveness in treating illness and maintaining health. However, the increasing demand for
these herbs has led to over-harvesting and contamination, posing a threat to their future
availability. Historical recommendations and exceptions to these recommendations provide
insight into the ideal conditions for growing Chinese herbs. Experiments with growing Chinese
herbs outside of China have also yielded valuable insights for small-scale herb cultivation in
non-traditional locations.
To address the supply problems, the paper recommends using traditional methods in
resource planning and adopting permaculture principles to allow plants to thrive in conditions
that emulate the wild. In particular, the paper suggests removing the restriction of daodi, the
traditional location for growing Chinese herbs, to encourage innovation and global cultivation.
By taking the principles of Chinese herbal medicine and applying them to new regions, it may be
possible to maintain the effectiveness of these remedies while conserving the original plants. By
taking the principles of Chinese medicinal herbs, we can maintain the dynamic framework and
reap some benefits from globalization by introducing new plants and conserving the original
ones. In the same way that ma huang treats the lungs and is most potent in autumn when we
are most vulnerable to lung problems, we can extrapolate for new regions to further sophisticate
herbal medicines. So let us roll up our sleeves and get to work before our aching heads have to
resort to aspirin!
 22 of 26

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