Pangolins removed from Chinese directory of medicines

Name: China removes pangolin from traditional Chinese medicine list
Uploaded: 2020-06-10T12:00:27.000Z
Duration: 1 min 23 s
Description: China removes pangolin from traditional Chinese medicine list

Previous editions of Chinese Pharmacopoeia listed mammal’s scales as being good for nursing mothers, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling

Beijing last week raised its protection for pangolins – one of the world’s most endangered species – to the highest level

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Beijing banned imports of pangolins and their by-products in 2018, but they continue to be smuggled into the country. Photo: AFP

Zhuang Pinghui

Published: 8:00pm, 10 Jun 2020Updated: 4:16am, 11 Jun 2020

References to pangolins and their body parts have been removed from an official Chinese compendium of drugs in what appears to be another move to protect the critically endangered species that has been linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia, pangolin scales are listed as an ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine that can help to “promote blood circulation, increase lactation [and] reduce swelling” among other things.

But in the latest version – editions are published once every five years – all mentions of the animal have been removed, according to a report by Health Times, a state newspaper under the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

While the use of pangolin scales in Chinese medicine has been recommended for centuries, their efficacy has never been scientifically proven. The scales are made of keratin – the same protein found in human nails – and many studies have said that pigs’ nails are an acceptable substitute.

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China removes pangolin from traditional Chinese medicine list

The Chinese government last week upgraded the legal protection for pangolins to the highest possible level, which the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said was necessary to “crack down on the illegal hunting and trading of wild animals and related products”.

The agency said it would increase surveillance and research of the animal’s habitat and population, and establish designated protection areas.

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