Daphne Board of Directors Office    27th Issue  July 30, 2009

        To push normalized, standardized, scale and branded operation of TCM drug material production, and to promote sustainable development of the TCM drug business, a review team of 4 visited Daphne's genuine & quality panax notoginseng demo base on July 28 – 29, 2009. The members of the team included Professor Zhang Bengang from the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development owned by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (leader), Ha Wei, secretary general at China Association of TCM Committee for TCM Material Plantation & Breeding, and Professor Ran Maoxiong at Guizhou TCM & Drug Research Institute TCM Drug Branch. On the July 29 afternoon, they held a meeting at Daphne's Conference Room 4 to review the "Genuine Drug Material Demo Base". The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ha Wei. Mr. Xuan Guangyu from Daphne's project team gave detailed presentation on panax notoginseng's genuineness, quality, traceability and normalized plantation.
        The expert review team concluded that the genuine properties of Wenshan panax notoginseng were reflected in high yield (200 kg per mu or 13 hectares), and quality to the standardization requirements. The area of quality panax notoginseng plantation base is 3321 mu (221 hectares), including 668 mu (45 hectares) of nursing base and 2653 mu (136 hectares) of commercial plantation base. With unique natural environment, appropriate planting technique and fine processing, the genuine drug material outperforms products of other origins in the context of quality and effect. The earliest documented information about panax notoginseng was recorded in the Daoguang regime in the Qing Dynasty. The earliest documentation about plantation of Wenshan panax notoginseng dated back to the 1930s.
        Through site visit, report hearing and data review, the expert review team concluded that Daphne carried out production in development of genuine & quality drug materials to the GAP plantation requirements, farmers were trained as per plans, the training records and personal records of the trainees were complete, the plantation operation complied with the specification, and the work was carried out concretely and seriously.
        Directed at the deficiencies and problems spotted, the expert review team stressed two points necessary for promoting normalized, standardized, scale and branded operation of TCM drug material plantation base. For the first thing, topographic map plotting of the panax notoginseng base should be completed as early as possible, so that the normalization requirements were met. Second, relevant submittals should be revised as soon as possible.
        According to the results of the expert team's site visit, data review and assessment, Daphne passed certification of "quality and genuine drug material base".