Constituent and extractives contents of selected herbal raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine from German experimental cultivation compared to imported materials from Asia

As a part of the interdisciplinary project on field production of herbal raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Germany, the content of the constituents and extractives of ten selected species (Angelica dahurica, Artemisia scoparia, Astragalus mongholicus (formerly A. membranaceus), Bupleurum chinense, Leonurus japonicus, Prunella vulgaris, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Scutellaria baicalensis and Sigesbeckia pubescens) from experimental cultivation at the Bavarian State Research Centre for Agriculture (LfL) and from import were compared. Ten experimental and imported samples per species, respectively, were analysed according to the Chinese pharmacopoeia (1,3). Most of the analytical methods were feasible, some methods, however, seem to produce systematic deviations due to methodology or reference substances. The experiences are communicated to the monograph establishing process of the European pharmacopoeia. The samples derived from field experiments showed high to very high contents of specific constituents and extractives and were at least equal to the imported samples. In some cases, high contents could be related to genetic resources and/or the portion of leaves and the freshness of the material, respectively. Several factors may act concomitantly. Herbal raw materials from local German production based on the projects recommendations have the potential to be at least equal to imported materials.