Hong Kong Authentication Centre of Valuable Chinese Medicines Limited

HKBU encompasses eight Faculties/Schools offering a range of undergraduate programmes, associate degrees and higher diploma programmes as well as taught postgraduate programmes and research postgraduate programmes leading to the award of master and doctoral degrees. It prides itself on its dual focus on teaching and research and encourages service to society among its staff and students. One of the area of strengths at HKBU is in health and wellness, where we have a world-leading School of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology.

At TechInnovation 2021, we are presenting a series of innovations and solutions for the betterment of your health and wellness.

Our Technology Offers

Quality Control Markers for Use in Herbs Authentication

With an increase in people’s awareness of health, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have become more popular. Among many TCM, Tiepi Shihu (i.e. one of the types of Dendrobium) and Cordyceps sinensis are two of the most expensive products.

Dendrobium is one of the largest genera in the plant family Orchidaceae, and more than 1,100 species of Dendrobium have been identified. Among them, Tiepi Shihu is traditionally recognised as the best Shihu for tonic purposes, such as nourishing the stomach, protecting the throat and eyes. The uncharacteristic appearance and high price of Tiepi Shihu could lead to the occurrence of adulterants, confusion of species and counterfeits. Therefore, authentication and quality analysis of Tiepi Shihu is crucial for ensuring safety and efficacy.

One of the conventional authentication methods greatly depend on the experience of botanical experts and subjective judgement; and the other is based on DNA bio-coding, which is very expensive and time-consuming. These existing methodologies are extremely intricate, difficult and time-consuming, and therefore they are not suitable for routine quality control.

This patented technology aims to target some unique polysaccharide markers which can be successfully applied to the authentication of Tiepi Shihu and Cordyceps products. We have identified that only Tiepi Shihu or Cordyceps sample shows its unique peak in the high molecular size range by using high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC). Apart from authentication, this method can assess the herb’s quality by distinguishing the quantity of the polysaccharide.