Korean researchers develop mass-propagation technology for herb fully dependent on Chinese imports

South Korean researchers have developed a core technology for mass-propagating Asiasarum, a traditional herbal medicine plant whose medicinal supply has been entirely dependent on imports from China.

A research team led by Dr. Kang Young-min, a University of Science and Technology professor affiliated with the Herbal Medicine Resources Research Center of the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, announced Thursday that it had established a propagation technique that cultures the stem tips of the Asiasarum plant to generate shoots and roots, which are then grown in soil.

The findings were published in the international journal In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant, and a patent application has been filed.

Sesin, the dried root and rhizome of the Asiasarum plant, is a traditional herbal resource long used to treat a range of conditions including headaches, toothaches, rhinitis, asthma and neuralgia.

The plant contains a variety of bioactive compounds — including essential oils, lignans and alkaloids — and is recognized for its high pharmacological value as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antimicrobial agent.

In the wild, the plant exists at low population densities, relies on ants for seed dispersal, and produces odorless flowers with high rates of self-pollination, resulting in seeds with low viability. All sesin used in pharmaceutical products distributed in South Korea is currently imported from China.

Compounding the challenge, the seeds exhibit deep morphophysiological dormancy, requiring prolonged cold treatment before germination — making both natural reproduction and large-scale cultivation difficult.

The research team cultured stem tips of the Asiasarum plant to identify optimal conditions for shoot and root development. Under those conditions, an average of 5.8 shoots and 12.25 leaves formed per plant segment within six weeks.

The cultured shoots were then rooted and transferred to pots, where they were acclimatized to greenhouse conditions. As a result, 98 percent of the plants survived and grew stably over eight months.

The team verified through multiple analytical approaches that the propagated plants were genetically and chemically identical to the parent plants.

Morphologically, the propagated plants showed no abnormalities and displayed the same characteristics as the parent plants in leaf shape, color and root development patterns.

"This research is significant in that it establishes a method for rapidly propagating Asiasarum — a plant that was previously difficult to multiply quickly using conventional methods — and lays the groundwork for domestically producing sesin, a herbal medicine that has been import-dependent," Kang said. "We will continue long-term cultivation and ingredient analysis to support the stable supply of sesin source plants and the conservation of medicinal plant resources, and we plan to expand the research to other rare and endemic medicinal plants."