The computer aided technology analyzed the "fingerprint," or distinguishing traits peculiar to each type of medicine, according to Qian Zhongzhi, director of the Chinese medicine department of the national pharmacopeia committee.

The technology was able to scrutinize overall quality, instead of simply checking a few ingredients of each kind of medicine, Qian said.

The current quality control model for Chinese medicine was borrowed from that for chemical drugs, or analyzing certain compounds in drugs. This method is effective for chemical drugs made of single element or few compounds, but unreliable for Chinese medicines whose curative effects depend not on single active compounds, but all active substances combined.

The technology helped solve the key issue of standardization of Chinese medicine and would promote worldwide acceptance of Chinese medicine and protection of intellectual property, experts said.

In addition, China is going to make major amendments to its "constitution" of Chinese medicine -- the Codex of Chinese Medicine -- in six major aspects so as to promote standardization and modernization

Since 1985, China has amended the codex every five years in order to recruit new technologies. The amendment, set for 2005, would be the eighth revision and included changes in six fields, according to Qian Zhongzhi, director of the Chinese medicine department of the national formulary committee.

The amendment would increase and alter the kinds of medicine listed, to cover medicines used in all clinical departments.

The standardization of methods and conditions in testing Chinese medicines was a major task covered by the amendment, as was the improvement and raising of the safety index, Qian noted.

The amendment also underlined the adoption of modern technologies in analyzing component ingredients of Chinese medicine, and increased the use of modern equipment in analysis, according to Qian.

Chinese medicine industry in recent year have developed quickly. Southwest China's Sichuan Province is emerging as the country's leading production base of processed traditional Chinese medicines after a decade-long development.

The output value of processed medicines in Sichuan rose from 80million yuan (US$9.6 million) in 1990 to 5.2 billion yuan (US$626 million) last year.

The figure is expected to top 6 billion yuan (US$722 million) this year, a provincial official told the 2002 International Conference on Modernizing Traditional Chinese Medicine in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

Sichuan has 120 enterprises engaging in the production of processed traditional Chinese medicines and 90 others for herbal medicines. Nearly 50 enterprises have earned the good manufacturing practice (GMP) accreditation.

Known as the "land of herbal medicine", Sichuan grows 5,000 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine plants on 66,000 hectares with an annual output of 100,000 tons, accounting for one third of the national total output.

The provincial government has listed medicine production as one of its pillar industries and earmarked 33 million yuan (US$3.9 million) over the past three years for developing new medicines. Over 60 kinds of new medicines have passed state medical assessment and been put into clinical experimentation.

(china.org.cn November 5, 2002)