002 herbal medicine

Deer antler is a common ingredient in Chinese tonic preparations. China is a major producer of deer antler products and appears to have the longest history of medicinal use of deer antler as well as production via deer farming. Species of Deer Initially, antler was collected from several species of wild deer (animals of the Cervidae family). There are 45 species of deer in the world, divided into 17 genera; not all of them have antlers. Two species of deer have been the common source of domestic deer antler for Chinese medicine: (Cervus Nippon) the sika deer, and (Cervus elaphus) the red deer. The sika deer is an East Asian species, ranging from Vietnam to Taiwan in the south and from China to Korea and Japan in the north; there are about 13 different subspecies of this deer. The sika deer mainly lives in open woodlands and is typically a chestnut red to yellowish brown with white spots on the sides and a dark stripe extending from neck to tail. Sika deer have been introduced to New Zealand for deer farming to produce antlers, and have also been introduced into Europe. The red deer originally ranged from Europe to Asia, and it has been introduced into New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina for the purpose of deer farming to produce antler. It has a glossy reddish brown color in summer (but in winter turns drab grey-brown). Red deer prefer open, grassy glades in the forest, but frequently use woody cover.