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Nomenclature: Herbal Taxonomy in the Global Commerce of Botanicals

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Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 122

Part of the book series: Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products ((POGRCHEM,volume 122))

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Abstract

In the world trade of medicinal plants, the naming of plants is fundamental to understanding which species are acceptable for therapeutic use. There are a variety of nomenclatural systems that are used, inclusive of common names, Latinized binomials, Galenic or pharmaceutical names, and pharmacopeial definitions. Latinized binomials are the primary system used for naming wild plants, but these alone do not adequately define medicinal plant parts. Each system has its specific applications, advantages, and disadvantages. The topic of medicinal plant nomenclature is discussed broadly by underscoring when and how varying nomenclatural systems should be used. It is emphasized that pharmacopeial definitions represent the only naming system that integrates plant identity, relevant plant parts, and the specific quality metrics to which a material must comply, thus affording the most appropriate identification method available for medicinal plant materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, P.O. Box 66809, Scotts Valley, CA, 95067, USA

    Roy Upton

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  1. Roy Upton
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Correspondence to Roy Upton .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    A. Douglas Kinghorn

  2. Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Linz, Austria

    Heinz Falk

  3. Centre for Natural Products Discovery, Liverpool John Moores University, Birmingham, UK

    Simon Gibbons

  4. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Tokushima, Japan

    Yoshinori Asakawa

  5. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, South Central University for Nationaliti, Wuhan, China

    Ji-Kai Liu

  6. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Wien, Wien, Austria

    Verena M. Dirsch

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Upton, R. (2023). Nomenclature: Herbal Taxonomy in the Global Commerce of Botanicals. In: Kinghorn, A.D., Falk, H., Gibbons, S., Asakawa, Y., Liu, JK., Dirsch, V.M. (eds) Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 122. Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products, vol 122. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26768-0_3

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