WHO Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) for Medicinal Plants: Acknowledgements

WHO Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) for Medicinal Plants
(2003; 80 pages) [French] [Spanish]

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword
1. General introduction
	1.1. Background
	1.2. Objectives
	1.3. Structure
	1.4. Glossary
		1.4.1. Terms relating to herbal medicines:
		1.4.2. Terms relating to medicinal plant cultivation and collection activities:
2. Good agricultural practices for medicinal plants
	2.1. Identification/authentication of cultivated medicinal plants
		2.1.1. Selection of medicinal plants
		2.1.2. Botanical identity
		2.1.3. Specimens
	2.2. Seeds and other propagation materials
	2.3. Cultivation
		2.3.1. Site selection
		2.3.2. Ecological environment and social impact
		2.3.3. Climate
		2.3.4. Soil
		2.3.5. Irrigation and drainage
		2.3.6. Plant maintenance and protection
	2.4. Harvest
	2.5. Personnel
3. Good collection practices for medicinal plants
	3.1. Permission to collect
	3.2. Technical planning
	3.3. Selection of medicinal plants for collection
	3.4. Collection
	3.5. Personnel
4. Common technical aspects of good agricultural practices for medicinal plants and good collection practices for medicinal plants
	4.1. Post-harvest processing
		4.1.1. Inspection and sorting
		4.1.2. Primary processing
		4.1.3. Drying
		4.1.4. Specific processing
		4.1.5. Processing facilities
	4.2. Bulk packaging and labelling
	4.3. Storage and transportation
	4.4. Equipment
		4.4.1. Materials
		4.4.2. Design, construction and installation
		4.4.3. Identification
	4.5. Quality assurance
	4.6. Documentation
	4.7. Personnel (growers, collectors, producers, handlers, processors)
		4.7.1. General
		4.7.2. Health, hygiene and sanitation
5. Other relevant issues
	5.1. Ethical and legal considerations
		5.1.1. Intellectual property rights and benefits-sharing
		5.1.2. Threatened and endangered species
	5.2. Research needs
Bibliography
Annex 1. Good Agricultural Practice for Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials, People's Republic of China
Annex 2. Points to Consider on Good Agricultural and Collection Practice for Starting Materials of Herbal Origin
	1. Introduction
	2. General
	3. Quality assurance
	4. Personnel and education
	5. Building and facilities
	6. Equipment
	7. Documentation
	8. Seeds and propagation material
	9. Cultivation
	10. Collection
	11. Harvest
	12. Primary processing
	13. Packaging
	14. Storage and distribution
	Glossary
Annex 3. Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants (GACP), Japan
Annex 4. A model structure for monographs on good agricultural practices for specific medicinal plants
Annex 5. Sample record for cultivated medicinal plants
Annex 6. Participants in the WHO Consultation on Good Agricultural and Field Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants

Acknowledgements

The World Health Organization extends its appreciation of the generous support provided by the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for the development and publication of these guidelines.

WHO also acknowledges its indebtedness to the more than 240 reviewers, including experts and national authorities, in over 105 countries who provided comments and advice on the draft texts. Preparation of these guidelines benefited, in addition, from technical support received from relevant United Nations agencies, international organizations and nongovernmental organizations.

Special thanks are due to participants of the WHO Consultation on Good Agricultural and Field Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants, held in Geneva, Switzerland in July 2003 to review the draft guidelines (see Annex 6), and to the experts who participated in the WHO Working Group Meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland in October 2003, to review and revise the draft guidelines.

Acknowledgement of their preparation of the original text is also due to: Professor Harry H.S. Fong of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, College of Phamacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA; Professor James E. Simon of the New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA; and Dr. Jacinto Regalado of the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Finally, WHO thanks Health Canada of the Government of Canada, especially the Natural Health Products Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, which hosted and supported the WHO Informal Meeting on Methodologies for Quality Control of Finished Herbal Products, in Ottawa, Canada in July 2001. It was at this meeting that the idea of developing these guidelines was first discussed and recommended.

The photograph on the front cover was kindly provided by Dr. Setsuko Sekita, Director, Tsukuba Medicinal Plant Research Station, National Institute of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Tsukuba, Japan.