Development Strategy of Huangjing Industry

Abstract

Currently, the situation of global food security is complicated and severe, and diet-derived chronic diseases are sweeping the world. Meanwhile, the views of “health-centered”, “nutritional diversity”, and “Food is Medicine” have become the general consensus. Using agricultural biodiversity to explore a new generation of crops that are both high-yield and nutritious has become an international trend, and Huangjing (i. e., Polygonati rhizoma) has notable characteristics and advantages. To fully unleash the potentials of Huangjing, this study systematically summarizes its history as both food and medicine, material basis of nutrition and efficacy as forest grain, as well as resource distribution and food production potentials. Huangjing does not contain starch, but rich in nutrients such as fructans with a complex structure, easy degradation, and energy, which is vital for serving life and health. Huangjing is suitable for in-forest planting or intercropping with maize and does not take up the farmland or compete for forest land. It has enormous production capacities and is crucial for ensuring food security. Huangjing is suitable for planting and processing in thousands of households, with good economic benefits, and is of great significance for achieving common prosperity. However, the Huangjing industry of China currently faces multiple challenges in terms of basic research, application technologies, as well as cultural heritage and policy support. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen research on the basic sciences and application technologies of the industry. Meanwhile, we suggest to incorporate Huangjing production into the policy and funding guarantee system for woody grain and oil, integrate Huangjing application into the healthcare and population health planning, and regard the Huangjing industry as an important carrier for rural revitalization and common prosperity, thus to establish a complete innovation and application system covering the entire industrial chain.

Keywords

• Huangjing
• forest grain
• nutrient content
• functional component
• bioeconomy