Gr upSM Quality Control of Chinese Medicine

It is always challenging to define what belongs to Chinese Medicine, and later on, you will find that it is even more difficult to say which is not. Generally, most of the Chinese Medicine originated from China. Certainly, there are a few exceptions, such as Cordyceps, Panax quinquefolius (American Ginseng), Crocus sativus (Saffron), etc. And we should not omit that the border of China keeps changing along the 2,000 – 3,000 years history of Chinese Medicine. Meanwhile, new species and other herbal or non-herbal resources became available through tributes and trading, such as Korean Ginseng and Edible Bird’s Nest imported in Ming dynasty (1368–1644) [1]. On the other hands, it is obvious that a large portion of Chinese Medicine composed of herbal materials. However, some of the Chinese Medicine are originated from animal parts, such as Calculus bovis which is the dried gallstones of cattle. Surprisingly, even highly toxic minerals, such as Cinnabar, are also regarded as Chinese Medicine.