A systematic study on confused species of Chinese materia medica in the Hong Kong market.

As more and more people worldwide begin using Chinese herbs, authentication of these herbs becomes an increasingly critical, international problem. Mistakes, misidentification, or willful deception can cause illness and even death. Questionable authenticity with regard to Chinese herbs arises for a number of historical, geographical and nomenclatural reasons, which will be described in this paper. The current situation in the Hong Kong market and some suggestions for alleviating the problem are also discussed.