In the 1980s, the traditional Chinese medicine industry of China was plagued by a critical raw material dilemma. As a rare and valuable traditional Chinese medicinal herb, natural borneol (d-borneol) was widely adopted in the production of dozens of classic Chinese patent medicines such as Angong Niuhuang Pills and Suxiao Jiuxin Pills. However, no domestically available natural resources suitable for large-scale utilization had been discovered within China, leading to long-term reliance on imports. Its persistently high price severely restricted the development of relevant industries.
In 1985, a joint research team consisting of the Ji’an Prefecture Forestry Science Research Institute, the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Capital Normal University launched the research project Study on the Selection of Superior Economic Chemotypes of Camphor Trees. During the implementation of this project in 1986, the research group discovered wild camphor trees with a distinctive chemotype for the first time. The d-borneol content in the volatile oil extracted from their leaves ranged from 67.06% to 81.78%, far exceeding that of other known Lauraceae plants at that time.
After two years of systematic identification conducted by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (covering elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and other testing methods), this chemotype of camphor tree was officially named "borneol camphor". Relevant research findings were published in Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica and included in national botanical taxonomic research documents. This marked China’s first official discovery of wild borneol camphor resources and kicked off the development of China’s natural borneol industry. As a core achievement of the research project Study on the Selection of Superior Economic Chemotypes of Camphor Trees, this discovery boasts complete project approval records, authoritative institutional appraisal and publicly released academic papers, laying clear historical evidence for subsequent industrial development.
In 1987, borneol camphor passed provincial-level appraisal and gained official authoritative recognition. In 1991, the Jiangxi Provincial Development and Planning Commission formally approved the industrialization project of borneol camphor, moving its industrial development into substantive implementation. To advance the industrial utilization of this rare plant resource, the Ji’an Forestry Science Research Institute immediately launched research on artificial propagation technologies for borneol camphor. After years of repeated trials, researchers overcame a series of technical bottlenecks including cutting propagation, dwarf cultivation and stabilization of active ingredients, achieving a breakthrough in transforming wild borneol camphor into artificially cultivated large-scale plantations.
In 1996, upon the recognition of Jiangxi Provincial Health Department, which collaborated with provincial and prefectural drug inspection institutions to formulate relevant standards, Ji’an natural borneol was officially incorporated into the Jiangxi Provincial Standards for Chinese Medicinal Materials. The standard specified 12 quality indicators, testing methods and processing specifications for natural borneol. As China’s first local quality standard for natural borneol, it signified that the industrialization of borneol camphor had entered a standardized phase, and also offered crucial references for the subsequent formulation of national pharmacopoeia standards.
From the launch of research projects in 1985 and the scientific discovery of wild borneol camphor in 1986 to the official release of the local medicinal material standard in 1996, the initial development of Jiangxi’s borneol industry was firmly grounded in rigorous scientific research. Every milestone of its growth is backed by complete research records and official validation, laying a solid foundation for the industry’s development over the following three decades.
