Herbal Nomenclature

Wu, K.M., J.G. Farrelly, R. Upton, and J. Chen. 2007. Complexities of the herbal nomenclature system in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Lessons learned from the misuse of Aristolochia-related species and the importance of the pharmaceutical name during botanical drug product developanent. Phytomedicine 14(4) 273-279. 

The intense need for herbal information in response to consumer interest in natural products was an acute reminder that information and knowledge generated locally have an international role. Confusion created by multiple names and unreliable nomenclature and classification of natural products mirrors problems encountered with drug nomenclature in the 1960s. Our information deficit in this area is still large. Chapter 24 presents a discussion of natural products. 

There are several limitations that lead to potential for patient harm with the current regulation of herbals under the DSHEA. First, botanical nomenclature is not standardized. Common names for herbals may vary depending on the region of the country. A single herb may have more than a dozen common names (e.g., echinacea), or one common herbal name may refer to several different species (e.g., yellowroot and snakeroot). To avoid confusion, the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has published Herbs of Commerce, a text of more than 500 herbs with the preferred common name, Latin binomial, and appropriate synonyms. 

Polygalaceae), Virginia (Aristolochia serpentaria, Aristolochiaceae) and white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum, Asteraceae). In the United States, a list of standardized common names called Herbs of Commerce (American Herbal Products Association, 1992) was adopted by the FDA as the only permitted source for common names on product labeling. Products that contain plants not listed in Herbs of Commerce are required to use the correct Latin name of the plant on the label. In addition to difficulties with nomenclature, problems have arisen because of the difficulty in determining exactly which plants are present in a finished product. Capsules that contain more than one plant and/or a dried crude extract make identification of the plant(s) by traditional means such as microscopy virtually impossible (Betz et al., 1995). Determination of the identity of a misidentified plant then becomes a matter of looking for specific toxic chemical constituents, which is usually a needle in a haystack approach unless symptoms are characteristic of a particular compound. Good quality assurance of raw material obviates the need for this detective work. 

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