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“Those of us who understand medicine can tell the difference; those who don’t simply cannot.” A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) e-commerce merchant stated that ordinary people buying Chinese medicinal materials online are completely at the mercy of luck when it comes to getting authentic products.
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Beijing News Reporter Han Futao Editor Gan Hao Proofreader Fu Chunyin
Adulterated colored hyacinth beans sold at 20 yuan per kilogram passing off as jujube seeds priced over 800 yuan per kilogram; spent medicinal residue recovered from pharmaceutical factories, after drying or secondary processing, repackaged and sold as genuine medicinal materials… The chaos in online sales of Chinese medicinal materials is rampant, posing very high risks for consumers buying TCM online.
At the end of 2023, in response to many consumers’ complaints about difficulty distinguishing genuine from fake TCM materials when shopping online, Beijing News reporters investigated the largest TCM distribution hub in China, Bozhou, Anhui Province, known as the “Chinese Medicine Capital.” Many TCM e-commerce merchants source their products here. To chase high profits, some e-commerce traders resort to unethical practices: buying low-priced items, seeking out inferior goods, and even adulteration, before selling via online e-commerce platforms.
On a well-known e-commerce platform, a webstore selling fake jujube seeds has sold over 300,000 units. Some merchants sell cheap medicinal materials such as Radix Angelicae Pubescentis (独活 Duhuo) disguised as Angelica sinensis (当归 Danggui). Such fake Angelica not only fails to treat illness, but because of heavy sulfur fumigation during processing, the sulfur dioxide residue far exceeds national standards, endangering consumers’ health.
“Those of us who understand medicine can tell the difference; those who don’t simply cannot.” A TCM e-commerce merchant said ordinary people buying TCM online can only rely on luck to get authentic goods.
▲Bozhou’s specialized TCM market has over 8,000 stores, with a daily foot traffic of up to 60,000 people.
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Counterfeiting: Low-price Duhuo disguised as high-price Danggui
In Bozhou, the “Medicine Capital,” leveraging abundant TCM resources, the local TCM e-commerce industry is booming.
At 8 a.m. on December 21, 2023, the Bozhou specialized TCM market was bustling with people. Merchants from across the country gathered there for purchasing, including some e-commerce bosses engaged in TCM trading.
Unlike other merchants, many e-commerce owners prefer to buy lower-quality TCM materials, and often specifically request inferior products.
“They who sell TCM online always want cheap goods, the cheaper the better.” A merchant told reporters that once they know the buyer is from e-commerce, they immediately recommend the lowest priced medicinal materials in their shop.
Danggui (Angelica sinensis) is a common TCM herb; its main effects are to replenish and invigorate blood, regulate menstruation and relieve pain, and moisten intestines to relieve constipation. Many traditional TCM prescriptions include Danggui, hence the saying “nine formulas out of ten contain Danggui.” In Bozhou’s medicinal materials wholesale market, even the cheapest Danggui costs over 100 yuan per kilogram.
“You can only get Danggui tails at that price, the goods are broken and not pretty; good appearance is most important online.” To get low-priced Danggui with good appearance, a merchant revealed the secret: “Use Duhuo to counterfeit Danggui. Duhuo looks similar to Danggui, and good quality Duhuo costs only a few dozen yuan per kilogram.”
According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Duhuo is also a TCM herb with effects such as dispelling wind-dampness and relieving pain. A local Bozhou vendor specializing in Duhuo told Beijing News reporters that most of her Duhuo is purchased by e-commerce owners for fake Danggui sales, “Several e-commerce merchants buy Duhuo from me; the largest one can sell ten tons per month, and he promotes Danggui exclusively online.”
After inquiries, on December 23, 2023, Beijing News reporters found an e-commerce store mainly selling Danggui in the Shennong Valley Park, Qiaocheng District, Bozhou. At noon, the shop door was half-open and had wallpaper pasted on the glass door. At the back door, a worker was sitting posting courier slips, and inside, other workers were packing medicinal materials. When the reporter approached, a young man sharply closed the back door.
▲In Bozhou’s Shennong Valley Park, a delivery truck is preparing to transport packed medicinal materials.
An insider told reporters that the Danggui they sell is in fact Duhuo disguised as Danggui. Using the courier information, reporters found an online store called “Yi’an Tang Nourishing Specialties” on a major e-commerce platform, whose shipping address is indeed Bozhou, Anhui. The shopping page shows the Danggui product has already shipped 84,000 units.
On December 26, 2023, reporters placed an order for Danggui from this store. After expert identification, it was confirmed that the received product was fake Danggui made from Duhuo.
Moreover, tests by professional agencies showed sulfur dioxide residue far exceeding national standards in the fake Danggui. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that sulfur dioxide residue in TCM should not exceed 150 mg/kg, but the purchased fake Danggui contained 429 mg/kg, exceeding the limit by 1.86 times.
The aforementioned Duhuo vendor revealed that as Duhuo’s color is somewhat dull, during processing sulfur fumigation is used to brighten its color to resemble Danggui. “It makes the color brighter, more like Danggui; this is done specifically for e-commerce.”
Using herbal materials with similar appearance to counterfeit is not limited to Duhuo disguising as Danggui. “There are cases of Platycodon used to counterfeit American ginseng, mulberry branches replacing Astragalus, and even yam pretending to be Polygonatum.” A merchant explained that besides similar appearance, the huge price difference between the two herbs is the main motivation for adulteration.
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Counterfeit production: Dyed hyacinth beans made into fake jujube seeds
▲On the left is the fake jujube seed made from dyed hyacinth beans, overall round with slight wrinkles on the surface; on the right is authentic jujube seed, oval and smooth. Differences are hard for laypeople to distinguish.
For some TCM materials that cannot be substituted with existing herbs, some merchants even devise ways to produce counterfeit goods with similar appearance to achieve deception.
Jujube seed (Suanzaoren) is a sedative TCM herb, with relatively complex planting and processing, and has maintained a high price in recent years. However, reporters found some merchants at Bozhou TCM market selling fake Suanzaoren made from hyacinth beans (also called soldier beans).
On December 23, 2023, in a store on the second floor hall of Bozhou TCM specialized market, the vendor said the cheapest Suanzaoren costs over 800 yuan per kilogram. Upon learning a customer was running an online shop and wanted to buy cheap goods, the vendor immediately understood, “You want substitutes? Those made from hyacinth beans.”
The vendor said hyacinth beans look similar to Suanzaoren, but are paler. Local people generally call them white hyacinth beans. To make them look more like Suanzaoren, the beans are first boiled then dyed.
“20 yuan per kilogram, but not available on the stall; need to pick up from the store.” The vendor said such fake Suanzaoren are inconvenient to display on stalls, then gave an address.
Following that address, Beijing News reporters found the store mentioned by the vendor at the nearby Kangmei TCM city. A middle-aged man took out a bag of fake Suanzaoren made from hyacinth beans from a corner, “This bag was also pre-ordered by someone else; I’ll first give you some part.”
Later, reporters visited other Suanzaoren sellers, most of whom sold such fake Suanzaoren. One merchant openly admitted these fake Suanzaoren mainly supply e-commerce businesses.
On December 29, 2023, reporters found the top-selling Suanzaoren store on a leading e-commerce platform; shipping address was also Bozhou, Anhui. The sales page showed over 300,000 units sold. Reporters ordered 500 grams of Suanzaoren from this store. After identification by industry insiders, it was confirmed to be fake Suanzaoren made from dyed hyacinth beans.
This is not the only store selling fake Suanzaoren. On December 31, 2023, at Bozhou’s Shennong Valley Zone 6, reporters found many shops packing courier packages. In one, workers packed herbal soup bags containing Suanzaoren.
This TCM e-commerce store has over ten workers packing and repackaging medicinal materials, operates seven or eight online stores on a major e-commerce platform, and also employs a dedicated operator to handle orders. “There can be thousands of orders daily; otherwise, how does the boss earn? The space here isn’t enough; we’re planning to move to a bigger location.”
Using courier information, reporters found the online shop named “Bo Herb Hall.” To verify authenticity, reporters ordered a sedative herbal soup bag from this shop. Two TCM experts separately identified that the Suanzaoren inside was counterfeit, made from hyacinth beans.
After further investigation, reporters found three other online stores operated by the same entity — “Bo Medicine Famous Workshop,” “Han Tang Medicine Food Health,” and “Zhenhao Medicinal Materials Shop.” According to shopping pages, combined sales for these four stores are nearly 400,000 units.
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Refurbishment: “Expired” medicinal residue sold as medicinal materials
▲Left is genuine raspberry fruit; right is raspberry fruit from which active components have been extracted; only a color difference.
During the investigation in Bozhou, Beijing News reporters also discovered another phenomenon: some merchants recover medicinal residue after active ingredients have been extracted at pharmaceutical factories, process it, and resell it as medicinal materials.
“The residue after extracting active ingredients is waste. Someone can get it out from the pharmaceutical factory,” explained a local merchant. In the process of extracting medicinal components, the external shape of medicinal materials is generally intact, but efficacy is lost. “Just stir-fry or stew it again; with secondary processing, it can deceive people.”
The merchant told reporters that almost every kind of TCM material has such fake ‘used’ products. Usually these fake materials are mixed with genuine herbs and sold together, making it hard to distinguish. “Ophiopogon japonicus prices have risen sharply recently, so there is more extracted residue of it. Genuine Ophiopogon costs 130-140 yuan, but online it sells for just a few dozen yuan; all are extracted residue.”
“This counts as fake medicine because it has no effect. It is basically firewood and illegal.” Another local merchant stated that the ‘used’ medicinal residue is not easy to get as transactions are very secretive. “Only insiders sell it; others won’t dare, fearing trouble.”
On February 18, 2024, after inquiries, reporters found a vendor selling Oryzae Fructus (覆盆子 Rubi Fructus) in Kangmei TCM market in Bozhou. The seller said he could help buy Oryzae Fructus that had been extracted of active ingredients.
A few days later, the vendor said he had contacted upstream suppliers, “Also got it from pharmaceutical factories. It requires connections; without them you can’t get it.” On February 23, reporters arrived at Kangmei TCM market as arranged. The vendor arrived at noon, unloaded a bag of Oryzae Fructus, then hurriedly left.
Compared with genuine Rubi Fructus, the extracted ones are slightly duller in color; the authentic ones are brighter. Outside appearance is nearly identical.
On a major e-commerce platform, a store called “One-Stop Medicinal Powder” claims to sell selected wild medicinal Rubi Fructus, but what they ship to buyers are extracted Rubi Fructus.
On December 30, 2023, at Bozhou Kangmei TCM market, reporters found the store’s office. A person in charge said they manage more than ten online stores selling dozens of kinds of herbal materials. “There is a dedicated packing site with workers there, not here.” The manager said they receive hundreds of online orders daily.
▲On the morning of December 30, 2023, many merchants were selecting TCM herbs in the second-floor hall of Bozhou specialized market.
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Consuming fake TCM may cause side effects
Ms. Lin, a Beijing consumer, told reporters that she chose to buy TCM materials online because one reason is convenience, the other is that prices are cheaper than pharmacies. “We didn’t know the products were fake.”
“Try to choose licensed pharmacies offline; do not purchase from unprofessional online sources.” Guo Guiming, director of the Drug Quality Control Center of Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Administration Bureau, warned that fake TCM poses great hazards. He advised consumers to buy carefully, “Consuming different types of fake medicine causes different side effects. Some have adulterants increasing many non-medicinal chemical components, causing various adverse reactions.”
A veteran traditional TCM merchant said that in recent years, the market for TCM materials has been very volatile and unpredictable; some people suffered huge losses. Compared with traditional merchants, TCM e-commerce has lower risks and stable profits. “Two hundred workers in a factory can’t beat two young people.”
“This business won’t last long, wholesale markets will close down.” Some local merchants despise e-commerce sellers for adulteration and selling fakes, “Fake goods ruin the market. Bozhou is the Medicine Capital. Its reputation is now bad, largely due to e-commerce.”
In fact, reporter searches revealed that over the past decade, Bozhou authorities have maintained strict supervision on TCM quality, carrying out special rectifications every year. According to local media, in 2023 Bozhou High-tech Zone Market Supervisory Administration conducted 12 special and surprise inspections for the TCM market, inspecting 3,025 fixed stores and 4,857 fixed stalls, handling 972 complaints and reports, and filing 15 cases.
A local merchant shared that current supervision over the wholesale herbal market is strict, and few dare openly sell counterfeit herbs there. However, many illicit trades are conducted covertly, with counterfeit herbs rarely brought into the market but hidden at homes or in transportation vehicles to avoid detection. This merchant also said enforcement actions against TCM e-commerce sellers are still limited and lag behind the rapid growth of the local e-commerce industry.
Duty Editor Li Jiajian Guli