For Chinese herbs, one word can mean millions

There's an old saying in China that a word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, but one anti-corruption official's accusations involving the name change of a medicinal herb may prove it can cost much more.

Lu Qun, deputy director of an anti-corruption office in central China's Hunan province, accused the former head of the China's Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) of unethically renaming a herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2005 to benefit northern companies, causing millions in economic losses for farmers in the south.

CORRUPTION CHARGE

Lu accused the CFDA's former director, Shao Mingli, of corruption in a series of 12 posts on his personal microblog account.

According to Lu, a potent variant of honeysuckle called Jinyinhua planted in the southern areas was renamed to Shanyinhua or "wild honeysuckle" in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the nation's largest medicinal herb guide, under Shao's instruction.

The southern honeysuckle flower is known for its potency and is highly sought after for its antibacterial properties. It is a multi-million dollar industry throughout the southern provinces of Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi. In the north it's a much smaller industry, believed to produce a less potent variety of the plant.

Lu says the name change was to benefit producers of honeysuckle in Shandong province.

Following the name change in 2005, Shandong farmers were able to retain the name Jinyinhua in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, a name that has been in use for more than 1,000 years and is widely recognized. Growers in the south were forced to change, Lu said on his microblog.

"Superficially, the revision is an academic issue, but in fact, it's a serious problem concerning corruption," Lu said.

The namechange caused "tens of millions" in losses for honeysuckle farmers in the south as the price dropped to one tenth of pre-namechange conditions with consumers still pursuing the herb under the old name, Lu said.

Descriptions of the flavor, functions, usage and dosage for both flowers remained identical in the herb guide.

Lu, who comes from a family with a TCM background, said he began receiving complaints about the revision from farmers, community officials and political advisors from Longhui County in Hunan, a major honeysuckle producing area, in May this year. Looking into their claims, he decided to intervene.