How does the 2025 Chinese Pharmacopoeia tightening affect anthraquinone demand in herbal medicine?

How does the 2025 Chinese Pharmacopoeia tightening affect anthraquinone demand in herbal medicine?
The 2025 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia has tightened free anthraquinone limits by 40% for herbal materials like Polygonum multiflorum, a widely used traditional medicine ingredient. This regulatory change has eliminated roughly 30% of existing inventory from qualification for pharmaceutical use, creating a structural shortage of compliant material despite apparent market oversupply. The stricter standards reflect growing concerns about anthraquinone as a processing contaminant rather than a natural component. Notably, anthraquinone is insoluble in water and stable, meaning it does not leach into tea infusions during normal consumption. However, EU regulations set a strict 0.02 mg/kg limit for anthraquinone in tea, and recent EU notifications have flagged Chinese tea exports for exceeding this threshold, underscoring that regulatory pressure on anthraquinone spans both pharmaceutical and food applications.