Introduction
As a multiethnic country, Chinese ethnic minorities have gradually created and accumulated their own ethnomedicines. The advantages of ethnomedicines in terms of its curative effect, safety, and cost have broadened its market. The ethnomedicine industry has gradually grown since the reform and opening-up policy was implemented. Confronting the market economy, ethnomedicines represented by Tibetan, Mongol, Uyghur, Dai, Yi, and Miao ethnic groups have created a path in modern pharmaceutical industry. In Western China, the ethnomedicine industry has created product and brand advantage to a certain degree by relying on resource superiority and modern science and technology, making it a burgeoning pillar industry. Taking renowned enterprises and products with large influences as examples, we aimed to make a brief introduction and illustration of the necessity and feasibility of the innovative development of ethnomedicine.
Yunnan Baiyao
In 1902, a famous Yi doctor in Yunnan named Qu Huanzhang developed a type of holy medicine for trauma. This medicine was eventually called Baibao Dan and/or Qu Huanzhang panacea Baibao Dan. Since its development, Baibao Dan was used prominently in several major historical events, and its efficacy was repeatedly proven. In 1955, the family of Qu Huanzhang presented the recipe of Baibao Dan to the government, and the recipe was then produced by the Kunming Pharmaceutical Factory and renamed “Yunnan Baiyao.” In 1971, the Yunnan Baiyao Factory and Yunnan Baiyao Laboratory were established under orders from Premier Zhou Enlai. In 1993, the Yunnan Baiyao Factory was restructured to become the Yunnan Baiyao Industry Co., Ltd., which was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and became the first A-share listed company in Yunnan. In 1996, the Yunnan Baiyao Group Co., Ltd. was established, achieving the “five unifications”: production plan, trademark, license, quality management, and sales.
In 1999, a new management team began a series of institutional innovations known as “Enterprise Reengineering” at Yunnan Baiyao. In little more than two years, comprehensive reform was implemented in marketing systems, research and development, production systems, internal management systems, and business processes. In-depth implementation of internal operations and management policies, such as an internal entrepreneurship mechanism, a chief scientist system, an internal order system, and a salary system, in addition to implementation of an enterprise resource planning system led to the optimization and reorganization of the internal business processes of the company and systematically established the institutional basis for the development of the enterprise [
,
].
Almost at the same time, Yunnan Baiyao began innovating their products to address the fierce external competition and to find new profit growth centers. In 2000, Yunnan Baiyao’s double-effect aerosol was launched in the market; this product was developed based on the traditional application plan of “a drug with the dosage form of three Dans and one secure tablet.” As the “only aerosol film technique” and the “only two-bottle double-effect” dosage form, it quickly gained high praises in the market. In 2012, profits from the sale of this product alone exceeded 1 billion Yuan. Moreover, employing the “global response to the whole world” strategy, Yunnan Baiyao Bandage combined the advantages of Yunnan Baiyao on trauma treatment and Beiersdorf material science and quickly and strategically occupied the market niche of hemostasis, anti-inflammation, and analgesia. After seven years of hard work, Yunnan Baiyao Bandage ranked first in market share. Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste transformed simple tooth brushing into oral health care and treatment, thus remodeling its consumption style and achieving great success in the market. In 2015, Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste products accounted for a 16% share of the fiercely competitive domestic toothpaste market, which ranked it in second place, with annual sales exceeding 4 billion Yuan [
].
In the context of “medicine”-based new products continuing to make breakthroughs, in early 2005, Yunnan Baiyao proposed a development strategy that involved “stabilizing the center (the Baiyao series) and expanding both wings (transdermal products and health care products).” In 2008, the Group reformed the operation style with an innovative division system, thereby significantly improving efficiency in the product structure and effective operation functions. In 2010, the Group’s revenue reached over 10 billion Yuan, growing from a follower to being one of the leaders in China’s traditional medicine industry. During this period, the Group proposed a new strategic target, which is the industry-based “new Baiyao, enlarged health” strategy that has survived through this day. In 2011, the entire Yunnan Baiyao enterprise relocated, thereby effectively solving the production bottleneck and laying a solid foundation for Yunnan Baiyao into the next century. This is known as the third milestone in the history of Yunnan Baiyao, following the initial creation of Yunnan Baiyao by Qu Huanzhang in 1902 and the establishment of the Yunnan Baiyao Factory in 1971.
Today, Yunnan Baiyao had completed the reversed reforming path of the company from sales to production to research and development. The company’s existing business covers the traditional medicine resources, the raw materials and preparations of traditional and modern medicines, personal care products, native herbs, and commercial distribution. Their products include a total of 19 dosage forms and more than 300 varieties, concurrently forming a large holistic health chain. In 2014, Yunnan Baiyao won the third China Grand Award for Industry, becoming the first winner from Southwest China and also the first enterprise in China’s pharmaceutical industry to win this award. In 2015, it ranked 25th among the top 50 Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises and the only ethnomedicine company to be included. In the same year, the market value of Yunnan Baiyao was 75.626 billion Yuan, with sales income of 20.738 billion Yuan and total profit and tax of 4.47 billion Yuan [
].
In the future, Yunnan Baiyao will adhere to its “medicine” foundation to “inherit the culture, surpass oneself, and serve people” and to continuously develop on the road of promoting the modernization and internationalization of the ethnomedicine industry.
Guizhou Miao ethnomedicines
Guizhou is the main gathering region for the Miao nationality, with approximately half of the Miao population living there [
]. The resource of Miao ethnomedicines is rich in Guizhou: “Guizhou has no useless grass, Yelang (the name of an ancient country located in Southwest China) has many panaceas.”
To preserve the heritage of Miao ethnomedicines and to develop it, Guizhou has encouraged researchers to conduct long-term investigations and to organize the medical knowledge and prescriptions of Miao ethnomedicines. After much research and exploration, several books have been published on the subject. Meanwhile, the Guizhou Province has systemically re-evaluated the secret prescription formulations of Miao ethnomedicines with a long history of use, clear original base, and dependable efficacy. Among the large number of ethnic and confidential prescriptions, more than 200 prescriptions for ethnomedicine preparations containing mainly Miao ethnomedicines were screened, evaluated, and eventually approved to enter the market. Concurrently, the “Guizhou Province Drug Standards” (1994 edition) was prepared. As of 2002, evaluations of ethnomedicines were required to be conducted based on nationally developed standards. Guizhou submitted a total of 158 applications for Miao ethnomedicine products, and 154 were approved. The development and enhancement of the drug standards effectively promoted the industrialization processes involving Miao ethnomedicines.
Since the emergence of Guizhou Miao ethnomedicine industry in the 1990s, it has grown to include more than 70 ethnomedicine companies, with its main products consisting of Miao ethnomedicines that account for 40% of all the pharmaceutical companies in the province. The industrial output of Guizhou Miao ethnomedicines grew rapidly. In 1996, the industrial output value of Guizhou Miao ethnomedicines was 160 million Yuan, accounting for 14.8% of the pharmaceutical output of the province; in 1999, it grew to 1.027 billion Yuan, accounting for 41.0% of the pharmaceutical output [
]. In 2014, the industrial output value of Miao ethnomedicines in Guizhou Province exceeded 11 billion Yuan [
]. Currently, Guizhou has 154 exclusive varieties of Miao ethnomedicines and has successfully launched a group of high-quality Miao ethnomedicine products with Xianlinggubao, Relinqing particles, and Heiguteng Capsule as flagship merchandise [
]. The Miao ethnomedicine industry formed a modern ethnomedicine industrial group with leading enterprises, including Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Guizhou Yibai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; and Guizhou Tongjitang Pharmaceutical Stock Co., Ltd. as representative companies. Of these, Bailing and Yibai had broken into the top 500 pharmaceutical enterprises in China and were successfully listed on the stock market. The Miao ethnomedicine industry has become an economic pillar industry in Guizhou Province.
In recent years, cultivation of medicinal herbs in Guizhou has been expanding, ensuring the sustainable and healthy development of the Miao ethnomedicine industry. In 2014, Miao ethnomedicines ranked third in the entire country, wherein the characteristic Miao ethnomedicines of Shibing Touhualiao and Leishan Yinyanghuo were approved under the national Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. The total production of traditional medicine and ethnomedicine planting, including wildlife with protected cultivation, of Guizhou reached 1.5525 million tons, with the output value of 12.012 billion Yuan and an accumulated area of more than 823 684 acres, in which whereas the total planted area of Cili exceed 16 473 acres. Guizhou Province established a relatively complete technical innovation system and constructed a number of research platforms for traditional medicines and Miao ethnomedicines. Through 2014, the enterprise had a total of 59 research institutions, including eight provincial or higher key laboratories, 33 engineering (technology) research centers, and 18 provincial or higher technology centers, above the provincial level in the field of traditional medicine and ethnomedicines in Guizhou. This enhanced research and development capability led to a significantly enhanced capacity and capability for drug research and development in the province. In 2014, the formation of the “National Engineering Research Centre of Miao Ethnomedicines” was officially approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and this center would promote the great-leap-forward development of the Guizhou Miao ethnomedicine industry.
From developing Miao ethnomedicines to the systematic study of medicinal theory, to the development of innovative drugs using Miao folk prescriptions and standardized drug research to meet the requirements of modern medicine, the Guizhou Miao ethnomedicine industry has undergone major development, starting from scratch to rapid expansion, and the Guizhou Miao is expected to continue to make a positive contribution to human health and economic development in Guizhou.
Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine
For thousands of years, profound Tibetan ethnomedicines has contributed tremendously to protecting the lives and health of the Tibetan people. Today, with the increasing demand for advances in healthcare, the establishment and development of Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd. (Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine) is a successful example of combining Tibetan ethnomedicines with modern technology.
In July 1993, Gansu Cheezheng Industrial Co., Ltd. was established; in August, Cheezheng Yantong plaster, which was based on a Tibetan traditional prescription and later renamed Cheezheng Xiaotong Plaster, was created and approved for production. In the summer of 1995, Cheezheng Industrial Co., Ltd. invested on a research project in Tibet; in the same year, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd. was incorporated in Linzhi, Tibet. To date, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine is the largest enterprise for Tibetan ethnomedicine production in China, with 55 Tibetan ethnomedicines and 74 approved licenses based on 12 exclusive varieties or exclusive dosage forms. The products of Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine Co., Ltd., include treatments for diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, and gynecological systems. In August 2009, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine enlisted for the first time in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for formal trading. In 2015, its annual operating income reached 994 million Yuan, with net profits of 265 million Yuan [
].
Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has established a number of precedents in the Tibetan ethnomedicine industry relying on technological innovation. For example, it pioneered the application of a thin-film coating process in the production of an oral dosage form of Tibetan ethnomedicine. In addition, the new form of Cheezheng Xiaotong Plaster using a modern vacuum lyophilisation process and patented technology solved two problems of the traditional plaster, i.e., the active pharmaceutical ingredient does not last very long and the efficacy was not fully realized. The plaster won second prize in the National Science and Technology Progress Award and the Gold Award for international invention. After it was commercially available, Cheezheng Xiaotong Plaster quickly became the preferred topical analgesic in hospitals and became the highest-selling Tibetan ethnomedicine in China. Furthermore, it was included in the National Essential Drug List and the National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List [
]. For two decades, the market for Xiaotong Plaster has ranked in the top tier of the topical drug sales market, which is inseparable from its mature intellectual property protection. As of 2011, a total of 15 patent applications related to Xiaotong Plaster, including eight invention patents, four utility model patents, and three industrial design patents, were available. Out of these industrial patents, one invention patent, four utility model patents, and three industrial design patents were authorized. [
]. In addition to the patents, by being recognized as a protected Chinese medicine of the State Secrecy variety, the trademark of “Cheezheng” is now famous in China, strengthening the intellectual property protection for Xiaotong Plaster.
Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has promoted Tibetan cultural heritage, resource conservation, and community nourishment, particularly the Tibetan region, as part of its corporate social responsibility. Over the years, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has donated more than 90 million Yuan to charity events, in addition to participating in the “glorious business,” such as investing in the establishment of Tibetan ethnomedicine manufacturing and a Tibetan ethnomedicine research institute, as well as setting up special funds to protect the heritage of Tibetan culture. Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has established corporate social responsibility programs mainly through project investments supplemented by public donations. Concurrently, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has investigated Tibetan ethnomedicine resources and research into its rational uses and into various planting technologies. The company has set up planting demonstration foundations for Zangdanshen, Bolenggua, Yishoucao; moreover, it has established a cultivation field of 16 473 acres for wild Duyiwei and a field of more than 494 acres for the protection of Tibetan medicinal herb [
].
Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has been successively recognized as a national innovative enterprise and as a state-level enterprise technical center, and it was awarded an implementation unit to support key projects in the national “Eleventh Five-Year” plan. In 2014, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine received the first prize in the First Chinese Ethnomedicine Science and Technology Progress Award and the first prize in Ethnomedicine Industry Innovation Award. As a result of its exploration and practice of promoting the development of the ethnomedicine industry to nurture the Tibetan area toward long-term success, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine was included in the “2013 Global Compact China Best Practices.” In 2013, as a result of its sustained efforts in protecting biodiversity, Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine won the honor of “Golden Bee Award · Growing Enterprise.” [
]
Although Cheezheng Tibetan Medicine has already succeeded in the ethnomedicine industry, it will courageously progress and make persistent efforts to ensure the sustainability of the millennium-year-old Tibetan ethnomedicines in the modern world.
Dengzhanhua
Dengzhanhua is the whole dry grass of breviscapus of Compositae plants,
Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand.-Mazz., which is also known as Dengzhanxixin. Deng-zhanhua is originally described in the
Southern Yunnan Materia Medica as a traditional medicine used by Miao people in Yunnan [
]. In the 1977 edition of the
Chinese Pharmacopoeia, it was listed under the name “Dengzhanxixin.” Wild Dengzhanhua is distributed in Western and Southwestern China. The Dengzhanhua resource in Yunnan accounted for more than 95% of the total Dengzhanhua resource in China [
]. The total flavonoids and the scutellarin and caffeoyl compounds, which have been shown to have significant effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, are the main active ingredients in Dengzhanhua [
].
The research and development of Dengzhanhua began in 1969 when the Miao doctor Luo from Qiubei County of Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, donated his secret recipe involving Dengzhanhua for the treatment of stroke. At that time, the Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica launched the first systematic research and development of Dengzhanhua [
]. After a few years, researchers at the Institute of Materia Medica achieved remarkable results in determining the resources, chemistry, and efficacy of Dengzhanhua, and its active ingredients were identified as a mixture of breviscapine, which mainly consists of scutellarin. A series of four drugs, including Dengzhanxixin injection, breviscapine injection, breviscapine tablet, and Yimaikang tablet, were then developed. The clinical applications had proven that the series of Dengzhanhua drugs have outstanding therapeutic effect on cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral thrombosis, and cerebral embolism; thus, Dengzhanxixin injection, breviscapine injection, and Yimaikang tablet were included in the National Essential Drugs List, while the Breviscapine tablet was included in the National Medical Insurance Drug List [
,
].
Following the 1990s, multiple institutes, including the Kunming Institute of Botany, the Shanghai Medical Engineering Institute, and Tsinghua University, have been successively involved in the research and development of Dengzhanhua. Thereafter, the study and exploration of resources, chemical composition, efficacy, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and new clinical applications of Dengzhanhua deepened; technically advanced dosage forms, such as solid dispersion formulation, controlled-release formulation, and phospholipid complex, were introduced into the design and development of Dengzhanhua formulations. The drug development with scutellarin as the leading compound has been launched in China and other countries [
–
]. Scientific research enhanced the safety and effectiveness of the clinical medicine and further promoted the vigorous development of the Dengzhanhua industry. According to recent statistics [
], a total of 111 pharmaceutical companies, of which 30 are in Yunnan, in China are currently using Dengzhanhua as a raw material. In addition, the industrial output value of Dengzhanhua is approximately 5 billion Yuan, and the main associated products include Dengzhanhua extract, Breviscapine, Breviscapine tablet, Breviscapine dripping pill, and Dengzhan Shengmai capsules. Many drug varieties from Dengzhanhua are included in the National Essential Drugs List and the National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List.
The rapid development of the Dengzhanhua industry led to a growing demand for raw material and has gradually been challenging the resources available naturally. Since the late 1990s, studies on the promotion of domestication and cultivation techniques, as well as the standardized planting of Dengzhanhua, have been conducted in Yunnan and Sichuan. In 2004, the first Dengzhanhua GAP cultivation base, namely, the Honghe Dengzhanhua GAP cultivation base, was built in Luxi County, Yunnan Province [
], and a germplasm resource garden was established [
]. Through 2012, Yunnan Province had approximately 1812 acres of planted Dengzhanhua, with a total of approximately 2740 tons of herbs. The planted supply accounted for more than 80% of the total Dengzhanhua herbs and 90% of the total breviscapine extract. The supply and demand for the herbs were basically balanced [
].
Dengzhanhua is one of the characteristic products of Yunnan. To date, Yunnan has four leading enterprises related to Dengzhanhua planting and processing that spans a complete industrial chain starting from the cultivation of medicinal herbs to the extracting process and production of the extracts into tablet, capsule, and injectables. Nationwide, Yunnan has amassed most of the Dengzhanhua plant production, extraction, and production of extracts and more than 40% of medicine production, with an output value that is 50% of the country’s total output [
].
Since the 1970s, the basic research and industrial development of Dengzhanhua has made great progress, resulting in the discovery and exploitation of good socioeconomic benefits, and this has set a good example for the potential development of new drugs from ethnomedicines. Many researchers believe that the only way to ensure the healthy and sustainable development of the Dengzhanhua industry is through the continuous strengthening of the support and guidance by government policies, improvement in the level of basic research and product development, and acceleration of technological innovation and industry standards [
,
].
Gold series of Yi ethnomedicines
Yunnan Province is home to 25 ethnic minorities with a total population of more than 5000 people, and the population of the Yi ethnic minority is the largest in the province, accounting for more than half of all Yi people in China. Over their long history, the Yi created a unique medicine culture, which included not only medical theory (recorded in the ancient books) but also countless medical technologies and secret prescriptions passed on solely by verbal and face-to-face instructions within a family from generation to generation.
The traditional medicinal experience and resources of ethnomedicines are the basis and origin of their research and development and serve as tangible and intangible characteristic resources [
]. Yunnan Province is located in a plateau area at low latitude, endowed with the rich resources of natural medicines, and its diversity in the ethnomedicine culture is unique in China. Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica conducted an investigation to identify the medicinal experiences and resources of ethnomedicines, in addition to the drug development based on the medicinal experiences, by implementing the project “field investigation and research and development of the natural medicine resources in low latitude plateau.” Among these drugs, the successful development and industrialization and promotion of the Gold series of Yi ethnomedicines is an important representative result.
Research and development of the Gold series of Yi ethnomedicines was based on a survey of folk medication experience of the Yi ethnic group in Yunnan. The study of prescription compatibility and the investigation and provenance identification of corresponding medicinal resources were conducted based on Yi ethnomedicinal theory. Moreover, in strict accordance with relevant national laws and regulations, i.e., “Regulations for Drug Registration,” “Supplementary Regulations for Chinese Medicine Registration,” pharmaceutical (process, quality standards, stability, etc.), pharmacological, toxicological, and clinical studies [
,
] were conducted; five drugs were approved for the national new drug registration, and six national invention patents were implemented.
The Gold series product includes Tongshu capsules (tablets), Zhongtong aerosol, Zhongtong liniment, Zhongtong gel, and Shangyi aerosol. Based on the use of ethnomedicines, following the principles of both internal and external treatments, the oral and topical prescriptions are separated such that the oral drug is safer and the topical drug is more effective. The Gold series of drugs had a significant effect on breast lobular hyperplasia, gout, bruises, rheumatism and joint pain, frozen shoulder, and other difficult diseases, as well as common diseases that had gradually been recognized and accepted by the patients. In the past five years, the direct sales of these products totaled 620 million Yuan, with before-tax profits of 159 million Yuan. The Gold series became a successful model for new drug development under Yi ethnomedicines. Among these products, the Tongshu capsule was classified as a “national key new product” in 2005, and the Tongshu capsule (tablet) and Zhongtong aerosol were included in the National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List. Currently, based on the significant clinical efficacy of the Tongshu capsule and the Zhongtong aerosol, and the judgement and analysis of the US market, a team has been formed to study key technologies and international registrations in accordance with US FDA requirements.
With the “research and development and industrialization of the Gold series of drugs” as one of its themes, the project of “field investigation and research and development of natural medicine resources in low latitude plateau” won first prize at the 2012 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, which filled the missing first prize award of the National Science and Technology Progress in traditional medicine for the past 10 years. Notably, the Gold series of Yi ethnomedicines were developed at the beginning of the restructuring of the Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica to become an enterprise. The research and development platform and the scientific teams were established at a difficult time and rapidly grew in practice. The enterprise has been identified as a joint Engineering Research Centre at both the national and local levels for new Southwest ethnomedicines development, and it is also a technical center of a state-level enterprise.
The innovative research and applied development systems engineering organized and implemented by the Yunnan Institute of Materia Medica is not only a process to study the model of “close integration of basic research and applied development” but also a process to explore and practice the ethnomedicine innovation and development path of “resource study → standardized development research → industrialization of the achievements and efforts for internationalization.” Aside from the successful development of the Gold series of products, other series of outstanding basic research achievements have been obtained, in addition to the construction and development of the research platform and research team, which aggressively promotes the ethnic economic and social progress and has substantial reference value for the sustainable and healthy development of ethnomedicines.
Sanqi
Sanqi [Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen ex C. Chow & W. G. Huang] is an important medicinal plant first discovered and used by the Zhuang ethnic group, and its actual application history is far older than 600 years. The dry roots and rhizomes of Panax notoginseng are of high medicinal value and are used for medicinal purposes under the names of “Sanqi,” “mountain paint,” and “priceless.” In the “Compendium of Materia Medica” by Li Shizhen, Sanqi was described as being “the important medicine for soreness in the military of South China, showing outstanding efficacy.” Before it passed into the Central Plains, Sanqi was widespread in the Southwest ethnic groups. It originated and main grows in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan.
For many years, Wenshan Sanqi has been regarded as both an official and folk treasure. In Qing Dynasty, the traditional trading center Tianzhou was gradually formed, and the sales reached all around the country. Simultaneously, a surge in demand prompted the gradual development of cultivated Sanqi. In more recent years, Sanqi has been widely used “to stop bleeding and myogenic issues, to help blood circulation, to reduce swelling and provide pain relief, to supplement the blood and to keep healthy” and is considered as a famous drug. Before 1949, the cultivation and processing of Sanqi was already well developed, and the export channels with their main distribution center, Hong Kong, had already formed [
].
Although the application of Sanqi has a long history, systematic research into its qualities began only in the 1970s. Since then, research on Sanqi tended to be continuously intensive and made great progress in terms of botany, classification, cultivation, pest control, and variety optimization, thus showing many useful results in chemical composition, formulation, efficacy, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical applications [
–
]. The mechanism of the active ingredient of Sanqi on the blood and cardiovascular system, cerebrovascular and nervous system, immune system, and metabolism was deeply explored and elucidated, revealing an important significance in terms of guidance for clinical applications and the discovery of new uses.
With the deepening of research and the development of the market, the development of Sanqi accelerated. Currently, the commercially available products include three main categories: therapeutic drug, health care products, and medicinal materials. Aside from the root and rhizome, the stem, leaf, and flower of Sanqi are also used. The therapeutic drug is divided into single-herb preparation and compound preparation. The former includes the total extract and monomer of Sanqi, whereas the compound preparation includes Yunnan Baiyao and Pien Tze Huang. A wide variety of health care products, including crude preparation, refined preparation, mixed preparation, teas, and beverages, as well as a daily necessity and a cosmetic series, developed from Sanqi are commercially available. The medicine includes root and rhizome, slice, and powder. In recent years, Yunnan Baiyao introduced the “Baoqi” series of products, which represents the higher qualities of Sanqi. The data show that more than 360 medicine varieties using Sanqi as a raw material exist in China, with 3600 licensed drugs involving more than 1350 pharmaceutical companies, and a number of these drug varieties are included in the National Essential Drug List and National Basic Medical Insurance Drug List.
As the origin of Sanqi, Wenshan has more than 90% of the Sanqi resources in the world, with more than 400 years of planting history, and its production and quality of Sanqi is the best in the country. Wenshan is sometimes called “China’s Sanqi town.” In the past 30 years, the Sanqi industry in Wenshan made great progress in terms of cultivation, product development, processing, and marketing. An integrated and large industrial structure for the systematic development of a single ethnomedicine has essentially formed. As of 2010, the GAP cultivation area of Sanqi in the prefecture was 11 531 acres, accounting for 82.35% of total planted area. In 2014, the output value of the prefecture-wide Sanqi processing industry was 3.084 billion Yuan, with sales income of 2.308 billion Yuan and an industrial output value of more than 10 billion Yuan. “Wenshan Sanqi” was identified as a Chinese well-known trademark in 2011, ranking first in the geographical indication products with the most comprehensive value in the class of Chinese herbal medicines in 2013.
Statistically, the current output value of products directly using Sanqi in the domestic biopharmaceutical companies exceeds 100 billion Yuan. The future development of the Sanqi industry should focus on construction of a quality standardization system, the promotion of Sanqi (root and rhizome, stem, leaf, and flower) to be listed in a new directory of food materials, and the construction of a high-level platform for cooperation and exchange to promote the rational and orderly development of the industry.
Discussion and conclusions
Ethnomedicines has become a unique and valuable health resource based on medicinal practices done throughout thousands of years. Knowledge and experience regarding ethnomedicines may be partially kept by the public in the form of historical records, ancient codes, empirical formulas, or folk prescriptions. Therefore, the effectiveness of ethnomedicines has been witnessed for hundreds and even thousands of years. Innovative development of ethnomedicines, including preservation, inheritance, and safe and effective drug research and development, is not only beneficial to the public but also stimulates the growth of the related industry and transforms economic growth pattern, further driving local social and economic development.
Research and development of new drugs by taking ethnomedicines as a cue, regardless of product forms such as compound or single drug, chemical component cluster, or monomeric compound, must comply with established standards of safety, efficacy, and controllable quality. Practical experience reveals that integrating modern method and technique and traditional application experience is an efficient way to guarantee the safety and effectiveness of clinical medication and to satisfy the health requirement of modern society. Relying heavily on innovation, ethnomedicines will have a brilliant future and would be more widely recognized by the public.
Innovation is not only a basic impetus for ethnomedicines to flourish but also a fundamental solution to remove barriers from its development. According to historical experience, innovation, which provides significant opportunities and constantly creates new surviving conditions and environmental development for human beings, is an internal power of development for any discipline. As intellectual achievements of ethnic groups over thousands of years, ethnomedicines have remarkable historical continuity. Also, the development of ethnomedicines is adapted for the socioeconomic development in regions inhabited by ethnic groups. Therefore, the development process entails verifying, criticizing, and inheriting the existing theories, knowledge, and experience repeatedly. The development process also reflects the integration of other achievements of social developments, in particular, scientific and technological advances. In a word, innovation is both an intrinsic requirement for the development of ethnomedicines and a unique approach for the reasonable and sustainable development of ethnomedicines.
Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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