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1 December 2006 CUHK Study Finds 90% Dry Crocodile Meats Retailed in Hong Kong Are Fake
Professor Shaw said, ¡§The Chinese University has been actively promoting scientific research and applying research results to benefit the public. Prof But and I took the lead in the early 1990¡¦s to apply molecular technology to authenticate Chinese medicines. So far we have received several China and U.S. patents. Molecular authentication has several advantages. It is not affected by the age, sources and physiological conditions of the test samples. Moreover, only a small amount of sample is sufficient for analysis¡¨. With support from funding agencies and the industrial and private sectors, particularly the Research Grants Council and Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Chinese Medicine, the two professors have studied over 50 Chinese herbs and their adulterants and substitutes. Their studies, for example, on differentiating ginseng and American ginseng and identifying genuine dendrobium (Shihu), have received China and US patents. In 2004, the team revealed unequivocally that Baiying, an herb for treating hepatic diseases, and the toxic Xungufeng, which contains aristolochic acids and can cause kidney failure and cancer of the urinary track, were erroneously swapped by the herbal industry in Hong Kong. The two professors are recruiting funds to construct the world¡¦s first DNA database for Chinese medicinal material, first covering the material in Hong Kong that are commonly used, easily confused, expensive or toxic and eventually the material listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. |