30 Mar 2011
The Department of Health (DH) today (March 30) signed a contract with Taiwan's China Medical University (CMU) for sample collection and research on Chinese materia medica under Phase V of the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) Project. The aim of the Project is to develop reference information for Chinese herbs commonly used in Hong Kong.
The contract was signed between Dr P Y Lam, Chairman of the International Advisory Board (IAB) on HKCMMS and Prof Jong-Tsun Huang, President of CMU at the CMU in Taichung. CMU was Taiwan’s first academic institution in where Chinese medicine and pharmacy programmes were provided.
The work to be undertaken by CMU will be funded by the HKCMM Project and will focus on four Chinese herbs commonly used in Hong Kong, namely Curcumae Radix, Arecae Semen, Rosae Laevigatae Fructus and Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus.
About the HKCMMS Project, it was initially launched in 2002 for the development of safety and quality standards for 60 Chinese herbs commonly used in Hong Kong over three phases. Of particular importance was that the principles and parameters for research and laboratory analysis were laid down clearly and objectively by a panel of international renown experts involved in the Project. The target of 60 herbs has already been achieved in 2010, with three volumes of the internationally acclaimed "HKCMM Standards" published.
In his 2009-10 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that the Government would further expedite the above effort to cover up to a total of 200 Chinese herbs commonly used in Hong Kong by 2012. The engagement of CMU will further bolster the research capacity of the Project by bringing in expertise from places in where Chinese herbs and traditional Chinese medicine are in popular use.