Fermentation technology opens up the possibility of combining medicine and food sources.
Dietary therapy is a traditional Chinese method for health preservation and wellness. As early as in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, it was recorded: "The five grains are for nourishment, the five fruits for assistance, the five livestock for benefit, the five vegetables for supplementation. Their flavors should be combined and consumed to supplement the essence and boost qi." The advantages of dietary therapy lie in its natural ingredients, mild action, and high safety. Its effects focus on the daily regulation of the body to reduce the occurrence of diseases, which is what Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) calls "preventing disease before it arises."
With the continuous enhancement of public health awareness, consumers are no longer satisfied with the mild, everyday regulation that seems "neither here nor there." Instead, they increasingly favor functional products with clear actions and significant effects. This is the fundamental reason behind the sustained development of health foods. However, although health foods are far from having the clear indications and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, they themselves are not ordinary foods either, being subject to strict regulation and having limitations for consumption. Medicinal and edible homologous substances, which possess both medicinal and dietary value, are precisely the key to breaking this impasse and have already opened up a trillion-dollar blue ocean market.
Medicinal and edible homologous substances refer to substances traditionally used as food and listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Once such substances with confirmed "efficacy" are classified as "ordinary" food, they inherently carry a "marketing halo." According to the 2024 China Medicinal and Edible Homologous Industry Development White Paper released by iiMedia Research, the scale of China's medicinal and edible homologous industry broke through 265 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to exceed 400 billion yuan by 2025.
Medicinal and edible homologous substances are an important part of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology, with many having been used in China for thousands of years. However, with the formation of a safety-centered food management philosophy, many substances have not been included within the current regulatory framework, even though they are still used with food attributes in local or limited scopes. Although this practice is non-compliant, it has its rationale, as such consumption habits may be supported by historical origins.
Therefore, since the former Ministry of Health issued the Notice on Further Regulating the Management of Health Food Ingredients in 2002, which clearly defined a list of 87 items that are both food and medicine, administrative health departments have been evaluating the feasibility of adding substances to the medicinal and edible homologous directory based on requests from provincial health commissions. Currently, the number of substances in the medicinal and edible homologous list has reached 106.
Simultaneously, the national level is actively promoting the transformation and implementation of medicinal and edible homologous projects. The *Outline for the Development of Food and Nutrition in China (2025-2030)* issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and two other ministries explicitly proposes "promoting the development and utilization of medicinal and edible substances," requiring the construction of a database on their components, guiding product development with dietary guidelines, expanding the variety range, encouraging the production and processing of authentic ingredients, and exploring the promotion of health claims for these substances.
Judging by the entire industry scale, the medicinal and edible homologous market is undoubtedly hot. However, behind this bustling scene lies a huge illusion that cannot be ignored. Serious homogenization exists among medicinal and edible homologous products; they are largely identical, and despite diverse varieties, popular ones like wolfberry (goji berry), American ginseng, angelica, lingzhi (reishi mushroom), and astragalus remain predominant. This phenomenon has already appeared in health foods. Data shows that among approved health foods, over 1,700 products contain wolfberry, over 1,300 contain American ginseng, and over 1,000 contain astragalus.
In fact, the root of this problem lies in the low entry barrier for the medicinal and edible homologous industry, leading to product diversity but insufficient foundational research and lack of sustained driving force. For Chinese herbal medicines to exert their effects, attention must be paid to syndrome differentiation and formula compatibility. Once incorporated into ordinary products, their original pharmacological effects can be greatly diminished. The relative scarcity of technologies for improving quality and efficacy further limits the industry's in-depth development.
