Yield and Quality of Domestically Grown Chinese Medicinal Plants

Interest and demand for Chinese medicinal plants in the U.S. is expanding due to increases in the number of practicing acupuncturists and their use of herbal formulas as part of treatment procedures.  Recent reports of contaminated goods imported from China have raised concerns about the quality of imported medicinal plant material, leading to demand for plants produced under controlled and documented conditions in accordance with good agricultural practices.  To evaluate the potential of domestic cultivation of selected Chinese medicinal plants in the northeastern region of the United States, cultivation trials were done with Agastache rugosa (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Kuntze, Leonurus heterophyllus Sweet, L. sibiricus L., and Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq.  The plants were seeded in the field in a randomized complete block design in plots containing 0, 100, or 200 kg ha^-1 of nitrogen supplied as soybean meal.  The nitrogen treatments resulted in a dose-related increase in yield for all the species.  A comparison of natural air drying and forced hot air drying resulted in different drying times, but no apparent differences in quality.  Preliminary organoleptic evaluation indicates that domestically produced plant material has a higher quality than imported plant material.