ISO/TR 23975:2025

Technical
Report
ISO/TR 23975
Second edition
Traditional Chinese medicine —
2025-01
Priority list of single herbal
medicines for developing standards
Médecine traditionnelle chinoise — Liste prioritaire de
médicaments à base de plantes isolées pour l'élaboration de normes
Reference number
© ISO 2025
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Document structure . 1
5 Principles . 1
6 Evaluation indexes . 2
6.1 International trade .2
6.2 Single herbal medicines recorded in pharmacopoeias .6
6.3 Safety concerns . 46
6.4 The use frequency of single herbal medicines in formula recorded in Pharmacopoeias
and national formula . 54
6.5 Single herbal medicine standards published or under development .71
6.6 Endangered species . 73
7 Data processing . 74
7.1 The weight coefficient of evaluation indexes distribution .74
7.2 The range of priority rank distribution .74
7.3 Data statistics . 75
8 Single herbal medicines in order of priority .75
Annex A (informative) Priority list of single herbal medicines ranked from 151 to 375 .83
Bibliography .94

iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
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The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types
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ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
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Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 249, Traditional Chinese medicine.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/TR 23975:2019) which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— in 5.1, the international trading value of herbal medicines was replaced by the international trade volume
as a high priority principle;
— in 5.4, a new principle of high priority was added;
— in 6.1, the data of international trade volume for single herbal medicines was updated; and Table 1 was
sorted by international trade volume;
— in 6.2, the data of single herbal medicines recorded in pharmacopoeias was updated; and Table 2 was
sorted by occurrence count;
— in 6.4, the data of the use frequency for single herbal medicines in formula recorded in Pharmacopoeias
and national formula was added; and Table 4 was sorted by occurrence count;
— in 6.5, the data of international standard for single herbal medicines that have been published or are
under development was updated, and listed in Table 5;
— in 6.6, single herbal medicines that are listed as endangered species in CITES were updated;
— in 7.1, the weight coefficient of criteria for developing single herb standards based on recent expert
consultation was updated, and listed in Table 7;
— in 7.2, the range of priority rank for developing single herb standards based on recent expert consultation
was updated, and listed in Table 8;
— in Clause 8, Table 9 was updated;

iv
— in Annex A, Table A.1 was updated.
In addition to text written in the official ISO languages (English, French, Russian), this document gives text
in Chinese. This text is published under the responsibility of the Member Body for China (SAC) and is given
for information only. Only the text given in the official languages can be considered as ISO text.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

v
Introduction
Being a significant part of traditional medicine systems and general health services, traditional Chinese
medicine is estimated to be used in over 180 countries and regions around the world. This is reflected by
the statistics cited from the WHO report that there are 4 billion people in the world using herbal medicines,
accounting for 80 % of the total world population. Asia, North America and Europe are regarded as the
major markets for herbal medicines. Moreover, incomplete Chinese customs statistics show that the import
and export of herbal medicine products in China was worth over 1,61 billion USD in 2023. Therefore, it is
very important to develop globally harmonized standards in order to ensure the safety of consumers. In
particular, those herbal medicines which have been reported to cause adverse drug reactions (ADR) are
drawing much attention from national health administrations.
There are a great number of single herbs on the market; for instance, 618 kinds of herbs have been included
in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Currently, organizations, regions and countries
including ISO, WHO, the European Union, China, Japan, Korea, the USA, the UK and Thailand are making
valuable contributions by developing standards for single herbs. This document presents a list of single
herbal medicines in order of priority for the purposes of developing standards on single herbs in a scientific
and orderly manner. This document can be used as a reference by any organization wishing to develop
standards on single herbal medicines.
The following factors have been considered in setting the priorities:
— the trade volume of each single herbal medicine in the global market;
— whether the herbal medicine is recorded by the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, the
European Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial
crude drugs, the Korean Pharmacopoeia, the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia,
Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards or the United States Pharmacopoeia;
— whether there are potential risks from its use;
— whether the herbal medicine is used in formula by the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, the
Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Korean Pharmacopoeia, or other national formula;
— whether the herbal medicine is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
— opinions from experts.
vi
Technical Report ISO/TR 23975:2025(en)
Traditional Chinese medicine — Priority list of single herbal
medicines for developing standards
1 Scope
This document provides a reference of single herbal medicines in order of their priority in the development
of international standards.
This document also provides a reference of the principles and the methodology for the priority evaluation of
single herbal medicines.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
No terms and definitions are listed in this document.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
4 Document structure
4.1 The principles for determing the priority of single herbal medicines are established in Clause 5.
4.2 Single herbal medicines and the data of evaluation indexes are listed in Clause 6.
4.3 The methods of data statistics, including the weight coefficient of evaluation indexes and the range of
priority rank, are determined in Clause 7.
4.4 The priority list of single herbal medicines is established in Clause 8 based on the evaluation indexes
data in Clause 6 and the statistical methods in Clause 7. The non-priority list of single herbal medicines is
provided in Annex A.
5 Principles
5.1 Herbal medicines which have a large international trade volume are listed as high priority in Table 1.
5.2 Common herbal medicines recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, the
European Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude
drugs, the Korean Pharmacopoeia, the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Hong
Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, and the United States Pharmacopoeia are listed as high priority in
Table 2.
5.3 Herbal medicines that have safety concerns, such as those widely reported to cause adverse drug
reactions (ADR), are listed as high priority in Table 3.
5.4 Herbal medicines which have a high frequency of use in formula recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of
the People's Republic of China, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Korean Pharmacopoeia, and other national
formula are listed as high priority in Table 4.
5.5 Single herbal medicines for which there are existing ISO standards are listed as high priority in Table 5.
5.6 Herbal medicines which are included in CITES are listed for reference in Table 6.
6 Evaluation indexes
6.1 International trade
Table 1 provides information on the 100 single herbal medicines which had the largest international trade
volume in China and Japan from 2017 to 2021 (sorted by international trade volume).
Table 1 — The top 100 single herbal medicines which had the largest international trade volume in
China and Japan from 2017 to 2021
International trade
Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese
volume
No. Rank Herbal name English name
name name pinyin
(kg)
1 1 Dimorcarpus longan arill longan arillus 龙眼肉 Longyanrou longan aril 524 270 778
Glycyrrhiza uralensis root
and rhizome/Glycyrrhiza
glycyrrhizae radix et
2 2 inflata root and rhizome/ 甘草 Gancao licorice root 78 028 000
rhizoma
Glycyrrhiza glabra root and
rhizome
3 3 Ziziphus jujuba fruit jujubae fructus 大枣 Dazao Chinese date 77 762 954
barbary wolfber-
4 4 Lycium barbarum fruit lycii fructus Gouqizi 61 256 785
枸杞子
ry fruit
curcumae longae
5 5 Curcuma longa rhizome 姜黄 Jianghuang turmeric 39 770 586
rhizoma
6 6 Poria cocos sclerotium poria 茯苓 Fuling Indian bread 32 821 447
7 7 Rehmannia glutinosa root rehmanniae radix 地黄 Dihuang rehmannia root 24 405 600
Astragalus membranaceus
8 8 var. mongholicus root/Astra- astragli radix 黄芪 Huangqi milkvetch root 24 056 566
galus membranaceus root
9 9 Paeonia lactiflora root paeoniae radix alba 白芍 Baishao white peony root 23 660 308
angelicae sinensis
10 10 Angelica sinensis root 当归 Danggui Chinese angelica 22 763 112
radix
11 11 Nelumbo nucifera seed nelumbinis semen 莲子 Lianzi lotus seed 22 429 217
Prunus armeniaca var. ansu
seed/Prunus sibirica seed/ armeniacae semen bitter apricot
12 12 Kuxingren 21 272 374
苦杏仁
Prunus mandshurica seed/ amarum seed
Prunus armeniaca seed
Ligusticum chuanxiong Szechwan lovage
13 13 chuanxiong rhizoma 川芎 Chuanxiong 17 669 422
rhizome rhizome
Atractylodes macrocephala atractylodis macro- largehead atrac-
14 14 白术 Baizhu 16 158 735
rhizome cephalae rhizoma tylodes rhizome
chrysanthemun
Chrysanthemun morifolium chrysanthemi flos/
Juhua/Yeju- flower/wild
15 15 capitulum/Chrysanthemum chrysanthemi indici 菊花/野菊花 14 155 600
hua chrysanthemum
indicum capitulum flos
flower
16 16 Pinellia ternata tuber pinelliae rhizoma 半夏 Banxia pinellia tuber 13 743 242
Note: Data from China Customs and Japanese source.

TTabablele 1 1 ((ccoonnttiinnueuedd))
International trade
Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese
volume
No. Rank Herbal name English name
name name pinyin
(kg)
baical skullcap
17 17 Scutellaria baicalensis root scutellariae radix 黄芩 Huangqin 11 334 012
root
processed Rehmannia gluti- rehmanniae radix prepared reh-
18 18 熟地黄 Shudihuang 11 087 029
nosa root praeparata mannia root
Rheum palmatum root and
rhizome/Rheum tanguticum
19 19 rhei radix et rhizoma 大黄 Dahuang rhurbarb 10 829 944
root and rhizome/Rheum
officinale root and rhizome
Codonopsis pilosula root/
Codonopsis pilosula var.
20 20 codonopsis radix 党参 Dangshen tangshen 10 768 612
modesta root/Codonopsis
tangshen root
Paeonia lactiflora root/
21 21 paeoniae radix rubra 赤芍 Chishao red peony root 10 308 069
Paeonia veitchii root
coastal glehnia
22 22 Glehnia littoralis root glehniae radix 北沙参 Beishashen 9 467 180
root
Panax ginseng root and ginseng radix et
23 23 人参 Renshen ginseng 9 272 878
rhizome rhizoma
panacis quinquefolii
24 24 Panax quinquefolium root 西洋参 Xiyangshen American ginseng 9 062 388
radix
25 25 Eucommia ulmoides bark eucommiae cortex 杜仲 Duzhong eucommia bark 7 918 769
Atractylodes lancea rhizome/
atractylodes
26 26 Atractylodes chinensis atractylodis rhizoma 苍术 Cangzhu 7 141 995
rhizome
rhizome
Ephedra sinica stem/Ephedra
27 27 intermedia stem/Ephedra ephedrae herba 麻黄 Mahuang ephedra 6 757 413
equisetina stem
28 28 Cinnamomum cassia bark cinnamomi cortex 肉桂 Rougui cassia bark 6 383 391
Sinomenium acuturn stem/
Qing-
29 29 Sinamenium acutum var. sinomenii caulis orientvine stem 6 373 600
青风藤
fengteng
cinereum stem
Boswellia carterii resin/
30 30 olibanum Ruxiang olibanum 5 788 700
乳香
Boswellia bhawdajiana resin
Commiphora molmol resin/
31 31,5 myrrha 没药 Moyao myrrh 5 788 305
Commiphora myrrha resin
Daemonorops draco fruit
32 31,5 draconis sanguis 血竭 Xuejie dragon's blood 5 788 305
resin
Bupleurum chinense root/
Chinese thorowax
33 33 Bupleurum scorzonerifolium bupleuri radix 柴胡 Chaihu 5 548 577
root
root
puerariae lobatae
34 34 Pueraria lobata root 葛根 Gegen kudzuvine root 5 049 986
radix
oriental water-
35 35 Alisma orientale tuber alismatis rhizoma Zexie 5 033 389
泽泻
plantain rhizome
Liangmian- shinyleaf prick-
36 36 Zanthoxylum nitidum root zanthoxyli radix 两面针 4 407 279
zhen lyash root
Paeonia suffruticosa root
37 37 moutan cortex 牡丹皮 Mudanpi tree peony bark 4 162 616
bark
citri reticulatae peri- dried tangerine
38 38 Citrus reticulata pericarp 陈皮 Chenpi 4 099 357
carpium peel
Ophiopogon japonicus root
Maidong/ dwarf lilyturf
tuber/Liriope muscari root/ ophiopogonis radix/
39 39 麦冬/山麦冬 Shanmai- tuber/liriope root 3 827 440
Liriope spicata var. prolifera liriopes radix
dong tuber
root
40 40 Platycodon grandiflorum root platycodonis radix 桔梗 Jiegeng platycodon root 3 618 978
41 41 Gardenia jasminoides fruit gardeniae fructus 栀子 Zhizi cape jasmine fruit 3 500 354
Note: Data from China Customs and Japanese source.

TTabablele 1 1 ((ccoonnttiinnueuedd))
International trade
Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese
volume
No. Rank Herbal name English name
name name pinyin
(kg)
Magnolia officinalis bark/
magnoliae officinalis officinal magnolia
42 42 Magnolia officinalis var. 厚朴 Houpo 3 442 692
cortex bark
biloba bark
Polyporus umbellatus scle-
43 43 polyporus 猪苓 Zhuling chuling 3 347 709
rotium
Phellodendron amurense phellodendri chinen- Huangbo/ Chinese cork-
44 44 bark/Phellodendron chinensis sis cortex/phelloden- 黄柏/关黄柏 Guanhuang- tree/amur cork- 3 297 263
bark dri amurensis cortex bo tree
divaricate
Saposhnikovia divaricata
45 45 saposhnikoviae radix 防风 Fangfeng saposhnikovia 3 137 656
root
root
asiatic cornelian
46 46 Cornus officinalis sarcocarp corni fructus 山茱萸 Shanzhuyu 3 097 242
cherry fruit
47 47 Perilla frutescens leaf perillae folium 紫苏叶 Zisuye perilla leaf 3 072 478
Asarum heterotropoides var.
mandshuricum root and rhi-
zome/Asarum sieboldii var. asari radix et rhi- Manchurian
48 48 细辛 Xixin 3 030 735
seoulense root and rhizome/ zoma wildginger root
Asarum sieboldii root and
rhizome
acanthopanacis senti-
Acanthopanax senticosus manyprickle
49 49 cosi radix et rhizoma 刺五加 Ciwujia 3 012 609
root and rhizome or stem acanthopanax
seu caulis
menthae haplocalycis
50 50 Mentha haplocalyx herb 薄荷 Bohe peppermint 2 991 857
herb
prepared com-
processed Aconitum car- aconiti lateralis radix
51 51 附子 Fuzi mon monkshood 2 972 724
michaelii daughter root praeparata
daughter root
Citurs aurantium fruit/Citurs aurantii fructus immature orange
52 52 枳实 Zhishi 2 921 872
sinensis fruit immaturus fruit
fineleaf schizo-
53 53 Schizonepeta tenuifolia herb schizonepetae herba Jingjie 2 915 433
荆芥
nepeta herb
schisandrae chinen- Chinese magnoli-
Schisandra chinensis fruit/
sis fructus/schisan- Wuweizi/ avine fruit/south-
五味子/南五
54 54 Schisandra sphenanthera 2 891 974
drae sphenantherae 味子 Nanwuweizi ern magnoliavine
fruit
fructus fruit
weeping forsyth-
55 55 Forsythia suspensa fruit forsythiae fructus 连翘 Lianqiao 2 887 487
ia capsule
Plantago asiatica seed/Plan-
56 56 plantaginis semen 车前子 Cheqianzi plantain seed 2 837 129
tago depressa seed
Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa ziziphi spinosae
57 57 酸枣仁 Suanzaoren spine date seed 2 788 106
seed semen
twotoothed
achyranthis bidenta-
Achyranthes bidentata root/ Niuxi/ achyranthes
58 58 tae radix/cyathulae 牛膝/川牛膝 2 779 128
Cyathula officinalis root Chuanniuxi root/medicinal
radix
cyathula root
Erodium stepha-nianum
common heron's
herb/Geranium wilfordii erodii herba/geranii
59 59 老鹳草 Laohecao bill herb/wilford 2 741 189
herb/Geranium carolinianum herba
granesbill herb
herb
Anemarrhena asphodeloides anemarrhenae common anemar-
60 60 知母 Zhimu 2 699 586
rhizome rhizoma rhena rhizome
Epimedium brevicornu leaf/
Epimedium sagittatum leaf/
61 61 epimedii folium 淫羊藿 Yinyanghuo epimedium leaf 2 646 248
Epimedium pubesceens leaf/
Epimedium koreanum leaf
Akebia quinata stem/Akebia
62 62 trifoliata stem/Akebia trifo- akebiae caulis 木通 Mutong akebia stem 2 613 995
liata var. australis stem
Note: Data from China Customs and Japanese source.

TTabablele 1 1 ((ccoonnttiinnueuedd))
International trade
Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese
volume
No. Rank Herbal name English name
name name pinyin
(kg)
Sophora tonkinensis root and sophorae tonkinensis Vietnamese
63 63 山豆根 Shandougen 2 611 657
rhizome radix et rhizoma sophora root
Cimicifuga heracleifolia
rhizome/Cimicifuga dahurica largetrifoliolious
64 64 cimicifugae rhizoma 升麻 Shengma 2 603 366
rhizome/Cimicifuga foetida bugbane rhizome
rhizome
65 65 Corydalis yanhusuo tuber corydalis rhizoma Yanhusuo yanhusuo 2 588 529
延胡索
Polygala tenuifolia root/ thinleaf milkwort
66 66 polygalae radix 远志 Yuanzhi 2 580 532
Polygala sibirica root root
Euodia rutaecarpa fruit/Euo-
dia rutaecarpa var. officinalis medicinal euodia
67 67 euodiae fructus 吴茱萸 Wuzhuyu 2 571 413
fruit/Euodia rutaecarpa var. fruit
bodinieri fruit
Magnolia biondii flower bud/
Magnolia denudata flower biond magnolia
68 68 magnoliae flos Xinyi 2 565 442
辛夷
bud /Magnolia sprengeri flower
flower bud
nutgrass galin-
69 69 Cyperus rotundus rhizome cyperi rhizoma 香附 Xiangfu 2 560 798
gale rhizome
70 70 Hyoscyamus niger seed hyoscyami semen 天仙子 Tianxianzi henbane seed 2 513 513
Angelica dahurica root/
angelicae dahuricae dahurian angelica
71 71 Angelica dahurica var. for- 白芷 Baizhi 2 503 324
radix root
mosana root
doubleteeth pu-
Angelica pubescens f. biser- angelicae pubescentis
72 72 独活 Duhuo bescent angelica 2 490 583
rata root radix
root
mulberry root
73 73 Morus alba bark mori cortex 桑白皮 Sangbaipi 2 483 217
bark
Amomum villosum fruit/
Amomum villosum var. villous amomum
74 74 amomi fructus 砂仁 Sharen 2 478 866
xanthioides fruit/Amomum fruit
longgigulare fruit
75 75 Carthamus tinctorius flower carthami flos 红花 Honghua safflower 2 476 402
great burdock
76 76 Arctium lappa fruit arctii fructus 牛蒡子 Niubangzi 2 463 394
achene
Asparagus cochinchinensis cochinchinese
77 77 asparagi radix 天冬 Tiandong 2 448 019
root tuber asparagus root
Aucklandia lappa root/Inula Muxiang/ common auck-
aucklandiae radix/in-
helenium root/Vladimiria 木香/土木香/ Tumuxiang/ landia root/inula
78 78 ulae radix/vladimiri- 2 446 008
souliei root/Vladimiria 川木香 Chuang- root/common
ae radix
souliei var. cinerea root muxiang vladimiria root
Notopterygium incisum
incised notop-
rhizome and root/Notop- notopteryqii rhizoma
79 79 羌活 Qianghuo terygium rhizome 2 445 909
terygium franchetii rhizome et radix
or root
and root
Clematis chinensis root and
rhizome/Clematis man-
clematidis radix et Chinese clematis
80 80 shurica root and rhizome/ 威灵仙 Weilingxian 2 439 428
rhizoma root
Clematis hexapetala root and
rhizome
Cassia obtusifolia seed/Cas-
81 81 cassiae semen 决明子 Juemingzi cassia seed 2 438 158
sia tora seed
artemisiae argyi argy mormwoot
82 82 Artemisia argyi leaf 艾叶 Aiye 2 437 252
folium leaf
Polygonatum kingianum
rhizome/Polygonatum sibiri- solomonseal
83 83 polygonati rhizoma 黄精 Huangjing 2 437 031
cum rhizome/Polygonatum rhizome
cyrtonema rhizome
84 84 Eribotrya japonica leaf eribotryae folium 枇杷叶 Pipaye loquat leaf 2 431 872
Note: Data from China Customs and Japanese source.

TTabablele 1 1 ((ccoonnttiinnueuedd))
International trade
Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese
volume
No. Rank Herbal name English name
name name pinyin
(kg)
Salvia miltiorrhiza root and salviae miltiorrhizae
85 85 丹参 Danshen danshen root 2 428 743
rhizome radix et rhizoma
Lycium chinense root bark/ Chinese wolfber-
86 86 lycii cortex 地骨皮 Digupi 2 425 474
Lycium barbarum root bark ry root-bark
87 87 Leonurus japonicus herb leonuri herba 益母草 Yimucao motherwort herb 2 418 760
alpinae officinarum Gaoliang- lesser galangal
88 88 Alpina officinarum rhizome 高良姜 2 415 958
rhizoma jiang rhizome
Cistanche deserticola fleshy
Rou- desertliving
89 89 stem/Cistanche tubulosa cistanches herba 肉苁蓉 2 410 311
congrong cistanche
fleshy stem
Polygonum multiflorum root polygoni multiflori
90 90 何首乌 Heshouwu fleeceflower root 2 410 167
tuber radix
91 91 Areca catechu seed arecae semen 槟榔 Binglang areca seed 2 408 522
puncturevine
92 92 Tribulus terrestris fruit tribuli fructus 蒺藜 Jili 2 408 444
caltrop fruit
Plantago asiatica herb/Plan-
93 93 plantaginis herba Cheqiancao plantain herb 2 397 533
车前草
tago depressa herb
94 94 Ligustrum lucidum fruit ligustri lucidi fructus 女贞子 Nüzhenzi glossy privet fruit 2 396 274
Crataegus pinnatifida var.
95 95 major fruit/Crataegus pin- crataegi fructus Shanzha hawthorn fruit 2 391 949
山楂
natifida fruit
Aloe barbadensis juice/Aloe
96 96 aloe 芦荟 Luhui aloes 2 390 736
ferox juice
Curcuma phaeocaulis rhi-
zome/Curcuma kwangsiensis zedoray/zedoary
97 97 curcumae rhizoma 莪术 Ezhu 2 389 146
rhizome/Curcuma wenyujin rhizome
rhizome
Peucedanum praeruptorum
98 98 peucedani radix 前胡 Qianhu hogfennel root 2 385 752
root
morindae officinalis
99 99 Morinda officinalis root 巴戟天 Bajitian morinda root 2 383 111
radix
100 100 Areca catechu pericarp arecae pericarpium 大腹皮 Dafupi areca peel 2 380 813
Note: Data from China Customs and Japanese source.
6.2 Single herbal medicines recorded in pharmacopoeias
In total there are 326 kinds of single herbal medicines recorded by at least twice among the Pharmacopoeia
of the People’s Republic of China, the European Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese
standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, the Korean Pharmacopoeia, the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia,
the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards and the United States
Pharmacopoeia (see Table 2). Among the single herbal medicines that are recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of
the People's Republic of China:
— 81 are also recorded in the European Pharmacopoeia;
— 129 are also recorded in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia;
— 25 are also recorded in the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs;
— 149 are also recorded in the Korean Pharmacopoeia;
— 113 are also recorded in the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia;
— 32 are also recorded in the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia;
— 273 are also recorded in the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Media Standards;
— 38 are also recorded in the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Table 2 — Single herbal medicines recorded in nine pharmacopoeias or standards
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
JP: Rehmannia
glutinosa var.
Rehmannia gluti- rehmanniae rehmannia purpurea
1 1 7 地黄 Dihuang x x x x x x x
nosa root radix root root/KHP:
fresh rehma-
nia root
KP, USP:
Angelica gigas
Angelica sinensis angelicae sinen- Chinese root/THP:
2 8,5 6 当归 Danggui x x x x x x
root sis radix angelica Angelica pol-
ymorpha var.
sinensis root
Scutellaria bai- scutellariae baical skull-
3 8,5 6 黄芩 Huangqin x x x x x x
calensis root radix cap root
JP, KP: Citrus
Citrus reticulata citri reticulatae dried tange-
4 8,5 6 陈皮 Chenpi x x x x x x unshiu peri-
pericarp pericarpium rine peel
carp
Salvia miltior- salviae miltior-
5 8,5 6 rhiza root and rhizae radix et 丹参 Danshen danshen root x x x x x x
rhizome rhizoma
Chinese
schisandrae
Schisandra magnolia-
chinensis fruc- Wuweizi/
chinensis fruit/ 五味子/南 vine fruit/
6 8,5 6 tus/schisandrae Nanwu- x x x x x x
Schisandra sphe- 五味子 southern
sphenantherae weizi
nanthera fruit magnoliavine
fructus
fruit
Coptis chinensis
rhizome/Cop- JP, KP: Coptis
golden
7 8,5 6 tis deltoidea coptidis rhizoma 黄连 Huanglian x x x x x x japonica rhi-
thread
rhizome/Coptis zome
teeta rhizome
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Astragalus
membranaceus
var. mongholicus milkvetch
8 8,5 6 astragli radix 黄芪 Huangqi x x x x x x
root/Astragalus root
membranaceus
root
weeping KP: Forsythia
Forsythia suspen- forsythiae
9 8,5 6 连翘 Lianqiao forsythia x x x x x x viridissima
sa fruit fructus
capsule fruit
Polygonum
polygoni multi- fleeceflower
10 8,5 6 multiflorum root 何首乌 Heshouwu x x x x x x
flori radix root
tuber
Atractylodes
lancea rhizome/ JP: rhizome of
atractylodis atractylodes
11 8,5 6 Atractylodes 苍术 Cangzhu x x x x x x their interspe-
rhizoma rhizome
chinensis rhi- cific hybrids
zome
Piper nigrum
12 8,5 6 piperis fructus 胡椒 Hujiao pepper fruit x x  x x x x
fruit
THP, USP:
Curcuma longa curcumae longae Curcuma
13 8,5 6 姜黄 Jianghuang turmeric x x x x x x
rhizome rhizoma domestica
rhizome
THP: Cassia
alata leaflet/
Herpetica
alata leaflet/
Cassia angusti- Cassia brac-
14 8,5 6 folia leaf/Cassia sennae folium 番泻叶 Fanxieye senna leaf x x x x x x teata leaflet/
acutifolia leaf EUP: Cassia
senna leaflet/
USP-NF: Senna
alexandrina
leaflet
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Aucklandia common
lappa root/Inula Muxiang/ aucklan-
aucklandiae
helenium root/ Tumux- dia root/
radix/inulae 木香/土木 JP: Saussurea
15 8,5 6 Vladimiria souliei iang/ inula root/ x x x x x x
radix/vladimiri- 香/川木香 lappa root
root/Vladimiria Chuang- common
ae radix
souliei var. muxiang vladimiria
cinerea root root
Ligusticum Szechwan KP: Cnidium
chuanxiong Chuanx-
16 41 5 chuanxiong 川芎 lovage rhi- x x x x x officinale
rhizoma iong
rhizome zome rhizome
heartleaf
Houttuynia houttuyniae
17 41 5 鱼腥草 Yuxingcao houttuynia x x x x x
cordata herb herba
herb
Coix lacrymajobi
18 41 5 var. mayuen coicis semen 薏苡仁 Yiyiren coix seed x x x x  x
kernel
JP, KP: Di-
oscorea japon-
ica rhizome/
Dioscorea
Dioscorea opposi- dioscoreae rhizo- common yam
19 41 5 山药 Shanyao x x x x  x batatas
ta rhizome ma rhizome
rhizome/USP:
Dioscorea
polystachya
rhizome
barbary
Lycium barbarum JP, KP: Lycium
20 41 5 lycii fructus 枸杞子 Gouqizi wolfberry x x x x  x
fruit chinense fruit
fruit
Atractylodes atractylodis largehead JP, KP: Atrac-
21 41 5 macrocephala macrocephalae 白术 Baizhu atractylodes x x x x x tylodes japoni-
rhizome rhizoma rhizome ca rhizome
EUP, JP:
Platycodon gran- platycodonis platycodon Platycodon
22 41 5 桔梗 Jiegeng x x x x x
diflorum root radix root grandiflorus
root
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Bupleurum
chinense root/ Chinese
23 41 5 Bupleurum bupleuri radix 柴胡 Chaihu thorowax x x x x x
scorzonerifolium root
root
Carthamus tinc-
24 41 5 carthami flos 红花 Honghua safflower x x x x x
torius flower
Ophiopogon
japonicus root
ophiopogonis Maidong/ dwarf lilyturf KP: Liriope
tuber/Liriope 麦冬/山
25 41 5 radix/liriopes Shanmai- tuber/liriope x x x x x platyphylla
muscari root/Li- 麦冬
radix dong root tuber root tuber
riope spicata var.
prolifera root
JP, KP:
Notopterygium Notopteryg-
incisum rhizome incised no- ium forbesii
and root/Notop- notopteryqii rhi- topterygium rhizome and
26 41 5 羌活 Qianghuo x x x x x
terygium fran- zoma et radix rhizome or root/Osteri-
chetii rhizome root cum koreanum
and root rhizome and
root
twotoothed JP: Achyran-
Achyranthes
achyranthis bi- achyranthes thes fauriei
bidentata root/ 牛膝/川 Niuxi/
27 41 5 dentatae radix/ root/medici- x x x x x root/ KP:
Cyathula officina- 牛膝 Chuanniuxi
cyathulae radix nal cyathula Achyranthes
lis root
root japonica root
Magnolia offici-
officinal JP, KP: Mag-
nalis bark/Mag- magnoliae offici-
28 41 5 厚朴 Houpo magnolia x x x x x nolia obovata
nolia officinalis nalis cortex
bark bark
var. biloba bark
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Codonopsis
pilosula root/
Codonopsis pilo-
29 41 5 codonopsis radix 党参 Dangshen tangshen x x x x x
sula var. modesta
root/Codonopsis
tangshen root
Paeonia suffruti- tree peony
30 41 5 moutan cortex 牡丹皮 Mudanpi x x x x x
cosa root bark bark
Ephedra sinica
stem/Ephedra
31 41 5 intermedia stem/ ephedrae herba 麻黄 Mahuang ephedra x x x x x
Ephedra equiseti-
na stem
Pueraria lobata puerariae lobat- kudzuvine
32 41 5 葛根 Gegen x x x x x
root ae radix root
JP: Prunus
Prunus persica
persica var.
33 41 5 seed/Prunus persicae semen 桃仁 Taoren peach seed x x x x x
davidiana
davidiana seed
seed
Gastrodia elata gastrodiae rhi- tall gastrodia
34 41 5 天麻 Tianma x x x x x
tuber zoma tuber
Amomum villo-
sum fruit/Amo-
mum villosum JP: Amomum
villous amo-
35 41 5 var. xanthioides amomi fructus 砂仁 Sharen x x x x x villosum var.
mum fruit
fruit/Amomum villosum seed
longgigulare
fruit
Eucommia ulmo- eucommiae eucommia
36 41 5 杜仲 Duzhong x x x x x
ides bark cortex bark
Anemarrhena common
anemarrhenae
37 41 5 asphodeloides 知母 Zhimu anemarrhena x x x x x
rhizoma
rhizome rhizome
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Sophora fla- sophorae fla- lightyellow
38 41 5 苦参 Kushen x x x x x
vescens root vescentis radix sophora root
Euodia rutaecar-
pa fruit/Euodia
"rutaecarpa"
rutaecarpa var.
medicinal can also be
39 41 5 officinalis fruit/ euodiae fructus 吴茱萸 Wuzhuyu x x x x x
euodia fruit marked as
Euodia rutaecar-
"ruticarpa"
pa var. bodinieri
fruit
common JP, KP: Prunel-
Prunella vulgaris
40 41 5 prunellae spica 夏枯草 Xiakucao selfheal fruit- x x x x x la vulgaris var.
fruit-spike
spike lilacina spike
Corydalis yan- corydalis rhi- KP: Corydalis
41 41 5 延胡索 Yanhusuo yanhusuo x x x x x
husuo tuber zoma ternata tuber
Angelica dahuri-
ca root/Angelica angelicae dahuri- dahurian an-
42 41 5 Baizhi x x x x x
白芷
dahurica var. cae radix gelica root
formosana root
Paeonia lactiflo- paeoniae radix white peony
43 41 5 白芍 Baishao x x x x x
ra root alba root
JP, KP: paeo-
Paeonia lactiflo-
niae radix
paeoniae radix red peony
44 41 5 ra root/Paeonia 赤芍 Chishao x x x x x
rubra root
veitchii root
JP: Magnolia
Magnolia biondii salicifolia
flower bud/Mag- flower/Mag-
nolia denudata biond magno- nolia hepta-
45 41 5 magnoliae flos 辛夷 Xinyi x x x x x
flower bud / lia flower peta flower/
Magnolia spren- JP,KHP: Mag-
geri flower bud nolia kobus
flower
common
Andrographis andrographidis Chuanxin-
46 41 5 穿心莲 andrographis x x  x x x
paniculata herb herba lian
herb
a
CHP stands for the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 edition.
b th
EUP stands for the European Pharmacopoeia, 10.7 edition.
c th
JP stands for the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 18 edition.
d
Non-JPS stands for the Japanese standards for non-Pharmacopoeial crude drugs, 2022 edition.
e th
KP stands for the Korean Pharmacopoeia, 12 edition.
f th
KHP stands for the Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 4 edition.
g
THP stands for the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 2021 edition and 2021 edition Supplement 2022.
h
HKS stands for the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, Volume 1 to 10.
i
USP stands for the United States Pharmacopoeia, including United States Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, 2021 edition and United States Pharmacopoeia/Herbal Medicines Compendium.

Table 2 (continued)
Occur- Pharmaceutical Chinese Chinese English Non-
a b c e f g h i
No. Rank Herbal name CHP EUP JP KP KHP THP HKS USP Note
d
rences name name pinyin name JPS
Ganoderma
lucidum spo-
glossy gano-
47 41 5 rophore/Gan- ganoderma 灵芝 Lingzhi x x  x x x
derma
oderma sinesis
sporophore
Panax notogin-
notoginseng
48 41 5 seng root and 三七 Sanqi sanchi x x  x x x
radix et rhizoma
rhizome
Areca catechu
49 41 5 arecae semen 槟榔 Binglang areca seed x x x x x
seed
Cassia obtusifolia
50 41 5 seed/Cassia tora cassiae semen 决明子 Juemingzi cassia seed x x x x x
seed
Terminalia cheb-
medicine
ula fruit/Termi-
51 41 5 chebulae fructus 诃子 Hezi terminalia x  x x x x
nalia chebula var.
fruit
tomentella fruit
JP, USP:
Acanthopanax acanthopanacis
manyprickle Eleutherococ-
...