For products containing herbal ingredients, the quality of raw materials is a critical factor determining the quality of the final product. GACP-WHO standards are considered an international guideline for standardizing the cultivation and harvesting of medicinal plants.

GACP-WHO stands for Good Agricultural and Collection Practices, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The objective of GACP-WHO is to help control the quality of medicinal plants right from the cultivation stage, while limiting factors that can affect quality, such as soil conditions, water, environment, and harvesting procedures.

GACP-WHO standards are seen as a foundational step before raw materials enter production at a GMP-certified factory. Below is the specific role of GACP-WHO in controlling medicinal plant quality.

Ensuring the highest levels of pharmacological active ingredients

Medicinal plants are "herbal remedies" containing biologically active compounds (phytochemicals). The content of these active ingredients can be influenced by many factors, including plant variety, soil, climate, harvesting time, and preliminary processing methods.

According to GACP-WHO guidelines, medicinal plants require cultivation with suitable varieties, in appropriate ecological zones, harvested at the correct time, and processed according to technical procedures. For example, `Platycodon grandiflorus` (cat canh) can achieve higher saponin content when harvested at the optimal plant age.

Vung trong cat canh dat tieu chuan GACP-WHO tai Lao Cai. Anh: Nam Duoc

Controlling food safety related factors

To ensure medicinal plant quality, developing cultivation areas according to GACP-WHO standards is an important step. This helps manufacturers of herbal products proactively control safety-related factors from the source. Under this standard, every stage, from seed selection, cultivation conditions, water sources, care procedures, harvesting, to preliminary processing and storage, is standardized and has clear traceability records.

This approach helps better control the risk of contamination, unwanted residues, and fluctuations in medicinal plant quality before production. While not the only factor determining final product quality, GACP-WHO certified cultivation areas are a crucial foundation for building a strict, transparent, and sustainable quality control chain.

Contributing to maintaining product quality consistency

The content of natural active ingredients in medicinal plants can vary depending on plant variety, soil conditions, climate, and cultivation methods. Therefore, without strict control procedures, the quality of incoming raw materials can easily fluctuate.

This is a common challenge for herbal products: medicinal plant quality can differ between seasons and cultivation regions. When cultivation areas are not standardized, the active ingredient content in each batch of raw materials may be inconsistent, making it difficult to maintain stable product quality.

GACP-WHO standards are applied to overcome this issue. The standard requires clear traceability, cultivation area management, and standardized cultivation and harvesting processes for medicinal plants. As a result, incoming medicinal plants are better controlled for quality and consistency across batches, helping products achieve higher stability and reliability.

Proactive medicinal plant supply

Investing in developing certified cultivation areas helps businesses manage raw material sources proactively, reducing reliance on medicinal plants purchased from the market. This also increases quality control capabilities throughout the entire production chain.

Vung trong quat dat tieu chuan GACP-WHO tai Ninh Binh. Anh: Nam Duoc

With a sustainable development orientation, Nam Duoc Joint Stock Company focuses on investing in GACP-WHO oriented medicinal plant cultivation areas to control raw material quality from the outset. These cultivation areas are managed with clear traceability records, cultivation, harvesting, preliminary processing, and storage procedures, adhering to the "three no's" and "three yes's" standards. The three no's include: no pesticide residues, no growth stimulants, and no chemical fertilizers. The three yes's include: good plant varieties, standardized processes, and high, stable active ingredients. Some of Nam Duoc's cultivation areas have achieved GACP-WHO certification, such as the kumquat cultivation area in Ninh Binh (certified in 2017) and the `Platycodon grandiflorus` cultivation area in Lao Cai (certified in 2018). Additionally, the `Ophiopogon japonicus` (mach mon) cultivation area in Lao Cai is developing according to GACP-WHO standard guidelines.

These medicinal plant sources are used in the production of some herbal products, including Ich Nhi cough and cold syrup, which contains ingredients like kumquat, `Plectranthus amboinicus` (hung chanh), `Platycodon grandiflorus` (cat canh), and `Ophiopogon japonicus` (mach mon). It supports cold relief, cough reduction, phlegm reduction, and runny nose relief for children. The product is manufactured at Nam Duoc factory (Ninh Binh) with strict quality management processes, helping ensure the stability of raw materials and finished products before market release.

Kim Anh

Ich Nhi cough and cold syrup, a health protection product from Nam Duoc Joint Stock Company, is produced from raw materials meeting GACP-WHO standards from the World Health Organization. The product's ingredients include kumquat (Ninh Binh) and `Platycodon grandiflorus` (Lao Cai), which help relieve colds, reduce coughs, and clear phlegm for children.

Ich Nhi cough and cold syrup has twice consecutively achieved the Vietnam National Brand award (in 2022 and 2024).

This food is not a medicine and has no effect as a substitute for medicine.