Taiwan can be used for reference in improving the quality of plant extracts exported from mainland China

The global plant medicine market is developing rapidly According to data monitor, the total international market sales of plant extracts and their finished products reached 22.9 billion US dollars in 2010 Although European and American countries have been shrouded in the shadow of economic crisis for three years in a row, the demand for botanical raw materials has increased unabated Therefore, China's export amount of plant extracts has galloped all the way In 2002, China's export of traditional Chinese medicine and plant extracts was only more than 200 million US dollars, reaching 1 billion US dollars in 2005, reaching a record 2.3 billion US dollars in 2009, quadrupling in just eight years However, the current deficiencies of the plant extract industry in China can not be covered by the number of red In the aspect of export, there are many problems, such as excessive pesticide residues and heavy metal residues in plant extracts, which cause international merchants to doubt the quality and safety of plant extracts exported from China The abuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers by pharmaceutical farmers during the growth of medicinal materials directly leads to the excessive residues of pesticides and heavy metals in plant extracts However, the vast majority of plant extracts processing enterprises in China are lack of trace pesticides and heavy metal removal technology In 2006, the United States and Europe began to implement more stringent new CGMP regulations for dietary supplements The European and American market has always been the main export market of plant extracts in China, which together account for 58% of the total export of plant extracts in China Japan, South Korea and China's Hong Kong and Taiwan regions only import Chinese herbal medicines, and rarely import plant extracts produced in China As developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan have begun to implement more stringent quality standards for plant extracts (including pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbial colonies and other indicators), it is very difficult for many plant extract enterprises in China to export The technology and equipment of many plant extracts production enterprises in China are very backward, so it is difficult to meet the new quality standards of plant extracts formulated by foreign countries The author believes that some practices of increasing the transformation of traditional Chinese medicine industry in Taiwan Province are worthy of reference for the domestic plant extract industry One is to enforce GMP There were about 200 traditional Chinese medicine processing enterprises in Taiwan After the implementation of GMP transformation, there are only 100 companies left Through GMP, the first stage of survival of the fittest is completed Second, the Ministry of economy of Taiwan province invests NT $3 billion every year to support the development of new products by traditional Chinese medicine enterprises In addition, NT $200 million is allocated every year for the construction of traditional Chinese medicine experimental center base This practice has produced fruitful results In the past few years, Taiwan's traditional Chinese medicine enterprises have developed a series of new products of traditional Chinese medicine, such as the treatment of asthma, gastric ulcer, hepatitis and the regulation of immunity In recent years, Taiwan's self-developed new Chinese patent medicine products have successfully entered the markets of Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Southeast Asia, and several new Chinese patent medicine products are undergoing clinical trials in the United States Third, the Agricultural Department of Taiwan Province controls the cultivation process of Chinese herbal medicines from the source, and encourages pharmaceutical farmers to use farmyard manure as much as possible, and use less or no chemical fertilizer and pesticide In this way, pesticide or heavy metal residues in medicinal materials can be minimized This kind of government led approach to help Chinese patent medicine enterprises go global is worth learning and learning Therefore, if we want to break through the technical barriers of developed countries, we should first control the use of pesticide and chemical fertilizer from the source, and encourage pharmaceutical farmers to use farm manure as much as possible, so as to reduce pesticide residues and heavy metal pollution; secondly, we should implement strict export standards of plant extracts (which must conform to the prevailing standards in the international market); thirdly, we should follow the practice of Taiwan Province The government has stepped up investment in development, changed the current situation of "small and scattered" plant extract processing enterprises in China, and strived for each strong plant extract production province to support a group of leading plant extract enterprises with scientific research strength and processing capacity.