by Andres Vergara, L.Ac., M.Ac. and Michele Collins, RH (AHG), MPH
Herbs are a powerful and natural form of medicine that has distinct advantages over other medicines such as pharmaceuticals, in part because of their long and well-established tradition of use and also because they are more akin to foods and therefore easily assimilatable by our systems. As herbs become more popular and available in raw and in prepared forms, an issue that is being raised more is the quality of the herbs being used. This includes several issues, such as was the plant correctly identified and what kind of pesticides or additives (ie like heavy metals) are included on the plants.
Safety Issues with Chinese Herbs
Greenpeace East Asia just published the results of a recent study of Chinese herbs in which they sampled 65 herbal products in China and tested them for a variety of pesticides and chemicals. Click here to read the New York Times report of this study. This is a serious problem for the Chinese people. And it means that those people who are using Chinese herbs in the United States do need to be aware of where the Chinese herbs they are using come from and what kind of quality control measures are being taken.
The Difference in US Imports of Chinese Herbs and the Chinese Domestic Market
Herbs for export are of a distinctively higher caliber, and more importantly are meticulously tested by US importers to assure that they have acceptably low levels of pesticides. In addition they are tested for heavy metals and adulterants. Herbs that do not meet U.S., Japanese or Korean standards are recycled back into the Chinese domestic market. This means that the Chinese people are receiving the herbal products that don’t meet the higher quality control standards established in other countries.
Many U.S. importers of Chinese herbs and herbal products such as Crane, Springwind, NuHerbs, KPC, Kamwo, Mayway, use independent laboratories in the United States to test for hundreds of pesticides as well as testing for sulfur dioxide, aristochic acid, aflatoxin/ochrotion, heavy metals and of course proper species authentication. Herb companies do maintain Certificates of Analysis that specify the results of their testing, as well as where the testing was done (ie in China or in the United States) that you can request when you order.
Conventional Grown versus Certified Organic
It is important to know that this testing does not mean that the herbs will be pesticide-free. In fact if herbs are conventionally grown, they most likely will have residues of the pesticides and fertilizers that were used. However, the pesticides and fertilizers will be ones that are considered both acceptable in type and quantity according to the regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency. If you want to know specific information about individual pesticides, you can see the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) sheets that details hazard information. To ensure that herbs and products are truly chemical free, they must be certified organic. Certified organic are a bit more expensive than conventionally grown herbs and are becoming easier to find.
Chinese Herbs Are An Important and Beneficial Part of Herbal Medicine
As herbalists, who use plants out of a deep respect for the healing properties of the Earth and her abundant plant resources, there is also an added issue of using products that leave the lightest footprint possible, when you look at the entire chain of production, including shipping. As always, though it is a finding the right balance. There are many Chinese herbs that have unique healing properties that are distinct and different from their western counterparts.
One example of many is the herb angelica. The species angelica sinensis or dang gui as it is commonly known is a very effective Chinese herbs that both nourishes the blood and helps improve blood circulation. The species of angelica commonly found in the United States, angelica archangelica improves circulation, settles the stomach, and induces a sweat. These two herbs have different indications for use and different biochemical constituents and can not be used interchangeably. We have found in our practice that there are enormous healing benefits to herbs from the Chinese, Ayurvedic, and western traditions which are unique and which complement each other. Using herbs from all of these traditions offers a very well-rounded and comprehensive array of herbs that can be used to benefit health.
The Good News – Growing Chinese Herbs in the United States (especially North Carolina!)
The good news is that there is a growing awareness of these issues, as evidenced by the study we cited earlier. Studies such as these expose the current weaknesses and the need for improvement. In the United States and in other countries like Japan and Australia, we have pushed for and are benefiting from stronger quality control standards and product testing implemented by herbal companies with a firm commitment to providing safe products.
There are also initiatives brewing to grow and to source Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs here in the United States. There are a handful of growers who are pushing the bar to show the diversity of Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs that can be grown here. Those of us located in North Carolina, are especially lucky to have Jeanine Davis who is working with a multi-agency cooperative effort to test out the possibilities of growing various Chinese medicinal herbs as commercial crop – click here for more details. Here are a few of the leaders in the field which are also great resources if you want to try your hand at growing Chinese herbs:
Horizon Herbs – company founded by Richo Cech that sells plants and seeds for Chinese, Ayurvedic, and westerns herbs. He has written and co-authored several excellent books (we use them and highly recommend them) , such as The Medicinal Herb Grower and Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs, Cultivation, COnservation and Ecology.
Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm – This is Peg Schafer’s farm located in California. She sells seeds and has written an excellent (this is one of our favorites) book The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm: A Cultivator’s Guide to Small-Scale Organic Herb Production about how to grow and harvest a wide range of Chinese medicinals.
Mountain Garden Herbs – Joe Hollis’ has an amazing plant sanctuary where he grows about every Chinese medicinal herb imaginable (and a great many western and Ayurvedic herbs too). He sells seeds, plants, but above all he teaches and shares his considerable knowledge of growing medicinal plants.
Medicinal Herb Farm – This is Catherine Brown’s farm located in Yadkin County, NC near Elkin. She grows and offers a wide range of Chinese, Ayurvedic, and western medicinal plants so you can grow your own. Catherine is an Acupuncturist and Herbalist who also owns a product company, Ageless Herbs that offers variations on traditional Chinese herbal formulas made with certified organic herbs.
Mountain Rose Herbs – This is one of our very favorite companies and suppliers of raw herbs. They offer some of the best quality control standards (and adher to fair trade practices and admirable labor standards and are a zero waste company!) and a wide array of certified organic herbs.
American Herbal Pharmacopia – This is a non-profit led by Roy Upton, who is a leader in quality control for herbal medicine to ensure identity, purity, and quality. This organization produces critically reviewed monographs that cover these quality control issues for individual Chinese, western, and Ayurvedic herbs.
What We Use at Spirit Rising Herbs
We use both concentrated extracts or granules and raw herbs in our clinical practices, all of which provide quality control and testing described above. For our western and Ayurvedic raw herbs we use certified organic herbs and are transitioning our use of all commonly used Chinese raw herbs we can get our hands to certified organic ones. This does mean we still use come conventionally grown Chinese herbs, mainly because there are not organic alternatives.
We are also growing our own organically!! See the pictures above of our fledging herbal babies (we bought all of these plants as babies from Catherine Brown). We are committed to providing our clients the highest quality herbs available. In addition we are always pursuing ways in which to increase the range of organic options. In our personal lifestyle we place a premium on eating safe organic food, it is very important to us to have our business reflect our values.
