Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources
As best represented by Chinese herbal medicine, medicinal plants have been used as ingredients for pharmaceutical products from ancient times. The Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources, the only comprehensive research center in Japan for medicinal plants, performs research and development on technology related to the cultivation and breeding of medicinal plants, chemical and biological evaluations, and cultivates and preserves more than 4,000 species and groups of medicinal plants at four divisions in Japan suitable to the vegetation of the area, to supply seeds and seedlings and offer guidance on cultivation technology to various research institutes.
General description of each division
Hokkaido Division (Nayoro City, Hokkaido)
- Features
- Performs research on the cultivation and rearing of top quality plants from medicinal plants in northern Japan. Plants used by Aynu are also collected.
- Representative plants
- Rhubarb, gentian, glycyrrhiza, astragali radix and saussureae radix, etc.
Tsukuba Division (Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
- Features
- Preserves medicinal plant resources, performs chemical and biological evaluations, and conducts research using biotechnology and genetic technology while serving as the main facility of the research center. We have a collection of ephedraceae and crude drugs samples.
- Representative plants
- phedra, poppy, cimicifuga, bupleurum falcatum, etc.
Tsukuba Division, Wakayama Branch (Hidaka-cho, Hidaka-Gun, Wakayama Prefecture)
- Features
- Performs systematic preservation and cultivation of medicinal plants in Kinki area..
- Representative plants
- Tree peony, paeoniae radix, Lindera strychnifolia F. Vill., Phellodendron amurense, angelica acutiloba, etc.
Tanegashima Division (Nakatane-cho, Kumage-Gun, Kagoshima Prefecture)
- Features
- Performs research on cultivation, collection and preservation of medicinal plants in southern Japan.
- Representative plants
- Cinnamomum sieboldii meissen, curcuma, rauwolfia serpentina, cassia angustifolia, etc.
