1.1 Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Authentication Centre (HKCMAC)
The 2009-2010 Policy Address of the HKSAR government emphasized that 6 industries would have major impact on the economy of Hong Kong. On the testing and certification industry, the Address stated:
"The most important task of the Testing and Certification Bureau of Hong Kong is to develop a 3-year development strategy for the industry; one of the focuses is to promote the development of new certification service especially for Chinese medicine industry, and to help Hong Kong to become a testing and certification centre in the area."
To match the economic development strategy of the government, to enhance the development of the CM and testing industry, and to provide better support to the testing services for both local and overseas CM products, the School of Chinese Medicine has completed the structure of HKCMAC. It aims to:
● Develop a widely recognized quality certification scheme in Chinese Medicine industry, so as to promote high quality CMs and Proprietary Chinese Medicine (PCM) products.
● Foster the CM industry to focus on the safety and ingredient of CM & PCM products, enhancing consumer confidence and its role in public health.
● Promote Hong Kong as the world CM and PCM product testing centre, providing high quality testing service to Hong Kong and overseas users.
Please see more details at: http://www.hkcmac.org/hkcmac/
1.2 Formulation of national/regional standards of CMs
Our center has made continuous efforts to contribute to the formulation of national/regional standards of CMM in the past years. We constituted close collaboration with the Department of Health, HKSAR, and has been continuously funded to propose and conduct the formulation of Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS, Phases I to XIII). We are still invited to continue to draft monographs for the coming Phase IX of HKCMMS.
About the HKCMMS, please see more details at: http://www.cmd.gov.hk/html/b5/service/hkcmms/cmmlist.html
1.3 Promotion of standardization of CMs
The Centre makes every effort to promote the standardization of CMs by organizing various academic, social, and cultural activities:
(1) To build serial image database of CMs, processed materials, phytochemicals, and CM formula
With financial supports from TDG and donation, two of them have been established and opened for free access. The fast-increasing users bring the School and the University increasing fames and influence in the field of CMs, being attracted by the high quality professional information in the serial database. Please find more details as follows:
● Medicinal Plant Images Database (http://library.hkbu.edu.hk/electronic/libdbs/mpd/)
● Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database (http://library.hkbu.edu.hk/electronic/libdbs/mmd/)
● Phytochemical Image Database (http://library.hkbu.edu.hk/electronic/libdbs/pid/)
● Another one called “Chinese Medicine Formula Image Database” is currently under construction
(2) Serial CM cultural promotion activities---500th birth anniversary of Shi-Zhen LI
Li Shizhen’s monumental Compendium of Materia Medica published in the Ming Dynasty (1593) represented a peak achievement in ethnopharmacology and Chinese medicine. As China rises and opens up to the outside world, Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Health TV have joined together to promote the culture and development of Chinese medicine with a vivid documentary series on Chinese medicinal materials, named as <Compendium of Materia Medica>, in honor of the 500th birthday of Li Shizhen. This series illustrates Chinese medicinal materials and their rich culture by using a modern style of expression, moving beyond written words to unearth the stories that lie behind the text. Each episode is dedicated to a specific medicinal material, and each episode presents three major topics: medicinal imagery, medicinal stories and new understanding of medicinals. This series features a team of international experts organized by Professor Zhao Zhongzhen. Together with Health TV, the series features an international perspective and analysis of Chinese medicine that exposes viewers to profound yet accessible discussions on Chinese medicine, culture, history, and industry. This project represents a new attempt to increase the popularity and dissemination of Chinese medicine both domestically and abroad, benefiting both the nation and the people.
1.4 Innovative research on QC and standardization methods
Innovative sciences and technologies are always the basis of standardization of CMs. The Centre has carried out researches in the following areas to enhance our existing research strength.
● Scientific elucidation of macroscopic identification of commonly used CMM by explore the relationship of the macroscopic characteristics and the quality
● Comparative study of chemistry and bioactivities of multi-sourced medicines
● Standardization of processed CMM and processing methods
● Studies of innovative methods for quality analysis of CM decoction and polysaccharide-rich CMs
● Investigation of active ingredients of CMs
