January 26th, 2020 | 
Author: 1. Six Chinese medicines are approved as food ingredients
On 6 January 2020, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) approved six new substances which can be conventionally regarded as both foods and Chinese medicines. In other words, from now on, these Chinese medicines can be used as food ingredients in China.
The newly approved 6 substances are as follows:
| S.N. | Latin name | Part | Note |
| 1 | Angelica sinensis(Oliv. )Diels | root | Use as spice and condiment. |
| 2 | Kaempferia galangal L. | rhizome | Use as spice and condiment. |
| 3 | Crocus sativus L. | stigma | Use as spice and condiment, also known as “saffron” in spice and condiment. |
| 4 | Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire | fruit | Use as spice and condiment. |
| 5 | Curcuma longa L. | rhizome | Use as spice and condiment. |
| 6 | Piper longum L. | ear | Use as spice and condiment. |
Note: When the substances produced and operated as foods, they should comply with the Food Safety Law.
2. Nine substances expected to be regarded as both food and Chinese medicine
At the same time, NHC issued a Notice to carry out the pilot production and operation of nine substances (details are as follow). China authorities will further study the feasibility of treating the following substances as both food and Chinese medicine after the pilot study.
| S.N. | Latin name | Part |
| 1 | Codonopsis pilosula（Franch.）Nannf. | root |
| Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T.Shen | ||
| Codonopsis tangshen Oliv. | ||
| 2 | Cistanche deserticola Y.C.Ma | succulent stem |
| 3 | Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo | stem |
| 4 | Panax quinquefolium L. | root |
| 5 | Astragalus membranaceus（Fisch.）Bge.var.mongholicus（Bge.）Hsiao | root |
| Astragalus membranaceus（Fisch.）Bge. | ||
| 6 | Ganoderma lucidum （Leyss. ex Fr.）Karst. | sporocarp |
| Ganoderma sinense Zhao, Xu et Zhang | ||
| 7 | Cornus officinalis Sieb.et Zucc. | flesh |
| 8 | Gastrodia elata B1. | tuber |
| 9 | Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. | leaf |
Source: CIRS
Posted in Association News
