Dendrobium officinale: The Industrial Development Path of the "Immortal Herb" of the Mortal World
From folk legend and unattainable rarity to sweeping across coastal cities and developed regions, from scattered collection to attracting numerous listed companies such as CONBA, Bright Food, and Tianmushan to step in, industrialized cultivation has taken shape across various regions. Over the past 20-plus years, Dendrobium officinale has continued to rise in attention, and has been widely researched and cultivated.
Is Dendrobium officinale truly "deified," or does it deserve its reputation? Industry insiders say that within the next 10 years, a developed Dendrobium officinale industry will take shape nationwide - is this empty talk, or is it guided by strong market demand? In this issue, the special "Business Perspective" column of the weekly Hunan Merchants Times will unveil the mysterious veil of Dendrobium officinale for readers.
A 2,000-Year Legend of a Medicinal Herb
Some say it is the "immortal herb of the mortal world," with multiple health-preserving effects such as nourishing yin fluids, tonifying the spleen and stomach, protecting the liver and gallbladder, lowering blood sugar, inhibiting tumors, and boosting immunity, making it an excellent tonic;
Some say it is the "soft gold among medicines," because a single plant was so hard to obtain that it could once only serve as tribute for the imperial family.
Dendrobium was first recorded more than 2,000 years ago in the Shennong Bencao Jing, and was listed as a superior-grade herb, stated as: "Governs injuries of the middle burner, removes impediment, directs qi downward, tonifies the five viscera in consumptive wasting and emaciation, strengthens yin, and when taken over a long period thickens the stomach and intestines"; thereafter, materia medica of successive dynasties continuously supplemented and developed the functions and disease applications of Dendrobium, until Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty evaluated Dendrobium officinale in the Bencao Gangmu as "strengthening yin and benefiting essence, thickening the stomach and intestines, supplementing internal exhaustion and insufficiency, calming stomach qi, promoting flesh growth, benefiting the intellect and removing fright, lightening the body and prolonging life." The Tang Dynasty Daoist medical classic Daozang even ranked Dendrobium officinale above Tianshan snow lotus, deep-mountain lingzhi, and Cordyceps sinensis, placing it first among the "Nine Great Immortal Herbs of China."
But the Dendrobium family has many species, and their effects differ greatly. It is understood that the orchid family genus Dendrobium has more than 1,400 species worldwide, and 81 have been named in China. Among them, Dendrobium officinale, also known as black-node grass, is named for its iron-green epidermis, and is the most precious and medicinally valuable variety among Dendrobium species.
Modern medicine shows that Dendrobium officinale is rich in pharmacologically active dendrobium polysaccharides and dendrobine, which can act on the human immune system, blood circulation system, and digestive system. It can not only effectively enhance the body's nonspecific immunity and resist the invasion of various pathogenic microorganisms, but also has effects such as lowering blood lipids, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood sugar, resisting blood coagulation, and resisting ulcers. It can delay human aging and has significant therapeutic effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, gastric ulcers, and leukopenia caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
In 2010, the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China distinguished Dendrobium officinale and Dendrobium as two varieties, establishing the unique medicinal and health-preserving value of Dendrobium officinale.
The Ice-Breaking Path of Artificial Cultivation
However, wild Dendrobium officinale has extremely high requirements for its living environment. It grows in the shaded areas of high mountain cliffs, and year-round needs the nourishment of cloud, mist, rain, and dew. It is not cold-tolerant, is extremely difficult to survive, and has a slow growth cycle: growing to 20 cm takes 4-5 years, so it is exceptionally precious. In the 1980s, wild Dendrobium officinale was listed by the state as a rare and endangered medicinal plant under key Class II protection, leaving the general public to sigh and envy from afar, yet remain unable to reach it.
It was not until the 1990s that Dendrobium officinale cultivation embarked on an ice-breaking journey - Zhejiang was the first to break through imitation-ecological artificial cultivation technology for Dendrobium officinale, achieving industrialized cultivation of Dendrobium officinale. Afterward, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, and other places began to respond.
The vigorous development of the industry, the rapid expansion of production capacity, the continuous entry of idle capital, and the inducement of market prospects also plunged the development of Dendrobium officinale into a crackdown battle between the genuine "Li Kui" and the fake "Li Gui."
In February 2006, CCTV's "Weekly Quality" program reported that a product manufacturer in Hangzhou produced Dendrobium fengdou products that passed off fakes as genuine and shoddy goods as superior, deceiving consumers with inferior medicinal materials. This once triggered a crisis of consumer trust in the Dendrobium officinale industry, and also prompted the industry to think prudently and explore deeply the growing environment and cultivation technology of Dendrobium officinale.
Industry insiders analyzed, "Just as among the nine great immortal herbs, ginseng must have a net weight of more than three liang, and lingzhi is best when its growth period is more than 60 years, not all Dendrobium officinale has miraculous effects. Only high-mountain Dendrobium officinale highly compatible with its wild ecological environment can fully exert its medicinal properties and therapeutic effects."
Because of its unique environmental advantages, in recent years a large number of major Dendrobium growers from Zhejiang and native Yunnan biotech companies have chosen Yunnan for Dendrobium officinale cultivation. Zhejiang's largest traditional Chinese medicine enterprise, CONBA, is among the outstanding and leading representatives, and its cultivated CONBA high-mountain Dendrobium officinale has become a leading brand in the industry.
Yunnan rose abruptly and became a dark horse in the development of the Dendrobium officinale industry. At present, 70% of the country's Dendrobium output comes from Yunnan. And Dendrobium officinale is becoming more and more widely known to the public. In the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area, a derivative product of Dendrobium officinale - Dendrobium fengdou - has become the first choice for people's daily health preservation and holiday gift-giving.
The Dream of Breaking Through for the Dendrobium Industry
Dendrobium officinale needs the guidance of high technology and standardized, industrialized operation.
In May 2012, the State Forestry Administration entrusted enterprises and research institutions to jointly formulate the Technical Regulations for the Cultivation of Dendrobium officinale, which was the first national industry standard for Dendrobium officinale cultivation.
The formulation of this standard took two years and was officially released in November 2014. It is of milestone significance for Dendrobium officinale and powerfully promoted the sustained and healthy development of the Dendrobium industry.
At the same time, the country's Dendrobium officinale production capacity has shown a significant leap-style increase: from a single variety to the simultaneous development of multiple varieties, from farmer planting to enterprise-scale production, and from providing raw materials to product processing, forming an industry that enriches and benefits the people and leads growers toward moderate prosperity, and is deeply welcomed by ordinary people.
Taking Yunnan and Zhejiang, the country's two largest Dendrobium officinale production areas, as examples, at present, in Yunnan Province, apart from Shangri-La, Lijiang, and Zhaotong, many places have developed Dendrobium cultivation, with 10 places including Pu'er, Mangshi, and Ruili focusing on development, driving more than 100,000 farming households to prosperity, solving employment and income growth for more than 500,000 rural people, and promoting local economic development. In Zhejiang Province alone, in 2014 the Dendrobium officinale cultivation base reached 20,000 mu, with an output value of 3.5 billion yuan. In the province's consumption sector, Dendrobium officinale has even been included in the scope of medical insurance reimbursement, greatly stimulating the industry's growth and expansion. Professor Si Jinping of the School of Forestry and Biotechnology at Zhejiang A&F University predicted that in 2015, the national Dendrobium officinale industry output value will exceed 10 billion yuan.
Some experts even said that at the current pace of development and under the "Guiding Opinions on State Support for the Elderly Care and Health Preservation Industry," the health preservation industry has encountered unprecedented development opportunities, and in the next 5-10 years the national Dendrobium industry is expected to develop to 50-100 billion yuan.
Although all sectors have drawn a grand blueprint in theoretical discussion, it is still extremely difficult for the market to ultimately digest this "big cake." On the one hand, Dendrobium officinale cultivation in various places is diverse and numerous, so how can its quality and authenticity be well controlled? On the other hand, Dendrobium officinale is a high-end consumer product. Some have calculated that an individual's average monthly expenditure on Dendrobium is around 1,000 yuan, and if consuming more finely and deeply processed Dendrobium products such as extracts, the expenditure is even higher. This high-consumption pattern inevitably limits the scope and speed of development. Furthermore, due to insufficient publicity, public awareness of Dendrobium officinale is not high. Many people do not know what Dendrobium officinale is, let alone what effects and functions it has, so naturally there is no desire or demand for consumption.
Therefore, focusing on the cultivation environment, advocating rational planting, highlighting brand effects, improving industry self-discipline, expanding research and development across the complete industrial chain, and strengthening market publicity - these are the winning ways for Dendrobium officinale to achieve vigorous development!