On 11 February 2019 when the Chinese people around the world were still immersed in the happy and warm atmosphere of the new year of pig, the stirring news came to ShouXianGu – the international standard Traditional Chinese Medicine – Dendrobium Officinale Stem numbered ISO 21370 and formulated by ShouXianGu as the leader was officially released on the website of the International Standardization Organization (ISO).

It is another quality standard made by ShouXianGu for traditional Chinese medicinal materials after the international standard Traditional Chinese Medicine - Ganoderma Lucidum Fruiting Body was officially released by International Standardization Organization / Traditional Chinese Medicine Technical Committee (ISO/TC249) on 10 January 2019. 

This standard specifies the quality standards, test indexes, test method, packing, storage and transportation requirements of dendrobium officinale stem products, and provides a unified standard for international trade of dendrobium officinale stem industry. It will not only greatly improve the international influence and competitiveness of dendrobium officinale stem, but also play a positive role in guiding and promoting the protection and industrialization of rare botanical drugs. 

 According to Dr. LI Zhenhao, a member of the scientific research team of ShouXianGu, unlike the formulation of the international standard of ganoderma lucidum, they were confronted with greater difficulties and challenges and questioned by experts of other ISO member countries when setting the international standard of dendrobium officinale stem. 

 Question 1: dendrobium officinale belongs to the family of Orchidaceae, and all wild orchids are under the Conventional on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list, and cannot be traded internationally. 

Question 2: There are many technical problems in the quality control of dendrobium officinale, such as great number of counterfeit varieties and similar varieties, indefinable major quality control indexes and dispute on detection of index components. 

 In the face of these challenges, ShouXianGu responded actively and sharpened its way forward. The ShouXianGu R&D Team, led by LI Mingyan, a leading talent of China’s “Ten Thousand Talents Program”, strengthened the fundamental research on dendrobium officinale through cooperation with team of experts, including HUANG Luqi, academician of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, utilized gene sequencing, high resolution mass spectrometry, near-infrared spectroscopy and other technologies to systematically analyze more than 700 dendrobium officinale stem samples from different producing places and of different batches from such aspects as gene, chemical composition and biological activity, and scientifically expounded the authentic genetic mechanism and material basis of dendrobium officinale stem.

On the other hand, ShouXianGu actively promoted the development of full industry chain of rare and valuable botanical drugs, and carried out in-depth research in various stages, such as breeding of excellent varieties, wild-imitated organic cultivation, research and development of highly processed products and clinical application, to advance the ecological, large-scale and industrial development of rare botanical drugs and endangered medicinal plants and establish a set of development model of rare botanical drugs that emphasizes protection and development parallelly .

In September 2016, the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP17) was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Researcher LI Mingyan, the leader of the international standard project of dendrobium officinale stem and a representative of the Chinese side, attended the conference on invitation, and made a special presentation and publicity on China’s efforts in the protection of wild resources of dendrobium officinale, as well as the research and development model of the whole industry chain of rare botanical drugs. 

This endangered medicinal plants development model that “protects wild resources of rare and valuable dendrobium officinale, develops large-scale and industrial planting technology, reduces the demand for wild resources and solves the livelihood problem of medicinal herb growers and the medicine needs of the public under the close attention of the government, the efforts of enterprises and with the orientation of scientific and technological innovation” has attracted the attention and praise from experts from all over the world. 

 Finally, with sufficient and accurate experimental data, the ShouXianGu R&D Team successfully defended itself several times for formulation of said international standard, and won the votes of member countries, laying a solid foundation for the formulation of the international standard of dendrobium officinale stem.

 In November 2017, Dr. David T.Graham, the then chairman of ISO/TC249, and professor SHEN Yuandong, vice chairman of ISO/TC249 and head of the International Institute for TCM Standardization, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine paid a special visit to the ShouXianGu headquarters for investigation and research. Researcher LI Mingyan, chairman of ShouXianGu, introduced in detail the operation mode, key technical nodes, product features and technological advantages of the full TCM industry chain. 

When chairman David T.Graham learnt that ShouXianGu’s dendrobium officinale stem had passed the China organic product certification for 13 consecutive years, and the EU organic product certification for 5 consecutive years, its Organic TCM Base had been awarded the titles of “National Organic Food Production Base” by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and “Genuine Dendrobium Officinale and Ganoderma Lucidum Varieties Protection and Standardized Planting Demonstration Base” by China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and that the dendrobium officinale stem series products were favored by TCM experts and consumers, and had been recognized as “Zhejiang Famous-Brand Products” by Zhejiang Quality and Technology Supervision Bureau for 7 years in a row and won the honorary title of “Excellent Dendrobium Officinale Stem Product in China” in 2015, he spoke highly of ShouXianGu’s work in the whole industry chain of TCM, and appreciated its practice of taking the opportunity of formulating the international standards of dendrobium officinale stem and ganoderma lucidum to improve product quality and facilitate the standardization development of enterprises, which is very much in line with ISO’s idea of development.