Bob Allkin manages Kew's Medicinal Plant Names Services, which serves as a vital reference for global health regulators and researchers. The service aims to address the complexities of medicinal plant nomenclature and improve regulatory standards while expanding its reach to food supplements and allergens. Kew is dedicated to merging technology and science to enhance research and communication in the field of medicinal plants.

1. What’sInaName?
HowKewhelpsdrugregulatorsdisambiguate
themessywelterofmedicinalplantnames
toshoreupregulationandsavelives
MEANINGMATTERS:PracticalApplicationsofSemanticTechnology

2. BobAllkin,Manager,PlantNamesServices,Kew
Bob Allkin’s role is to manage Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS)
which is a key reference for global health regulators, natural product
researchers, trade and practitioners, and provides a control vocabulary for
ISO’s standard“Identification of Medicinal Products”. Currently we seek to
expand these services to address the needs of those working with food
supplements, allergens and poisonous plants. He works in the department
of Biodiversity Informatics and Spatial Analysis at the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew, where they are Applying computational techniques to analyse, edit,
curate, organise, mine and disseminate data and to evaluate trends and
patterns through time and space. Bob holds a Bachelor of Science with
Honors in Biology from Queen Mary College, London University, and a PhD in
Computer-assisted plant identification fromWestminster University and the
Natural History Museum in London.

3. What's in a name?
Herbal remedies & public health

4. 1. Curation of collections as global assets for research
2. Discovering and understanding plant and fungal diversity
and its uses for humanity
3. Dissemination of knowledge about plants and fungi for
impact on science, education, conservation and livelihoods
Kew: “Unlocking why plants and fungi matter”
2

5. 3
Our 350+ scientists work collaboratively and globally, making an invaluable
contribution to solving some of the biggest challenges facing humanity

6. Kew’s collections
Herbarium
collections
• ca 7 million dried pressed
plants
• 40,000 plants preserved in
alcohol
• 20,000 dried (non-viable) seeds
and fruits
Mycology
collections
• ca 1.25 million dried fungi
• 1,100 living fungal cultures
stored in liquid nitrogen
• 500 isolates of mycorrhizal
fungi
Economic
Botany
collection
• ca 110,000 artefacts & samples
of known plant origin
• ca 40,000 wood samples
(xylarium) Basket in
Economic Botany
collection
Dried herbarium
material ready for
mounting
Iridescent fruits
preserved in
alcohol

7. 5
Tropical Important Plant Areas
Plant & Fungal Tree of Life
Kew Science
Deforestation map: drone

8. Open Access to:
• Core collections data
• Higher taxonomy
• Backbone taxonomy
• Descriptive data
Species Pages:
• Description(s)
• Distribution maps
• Taxonomy
• Common names
• Bibliography
Plants of the World Online Portal (POWOP)
6

9. Herbal Medicines &
Natural Products
• Growing use
• Global Trade: US$ 30 billion 2015
- 300% growth since 2000
• TCM, Ayurveda, Kampo, Jamu
• 80% of world population rely on
herbals for their primary healthcare
(WHO)
• Plants a primary source
of pharmaceutical drugs:
122 in last 2 years

10. 8
Products with active ingredients from plant parts:
e.g. leaves, roots or flowers.
Being "natural" doesn't necessarily mean they're safe for you to take
- Like conventional medicines, herbal medicines have effects on the body.
- Herbal medicines can be potentially harmful if not used correctly.

11. Identification v’s Naming
Identification:
What is this plant?
Naming:
Oh, so THAT’s what you call it!
Authentication:
Is this really Cannabis sativa L.??
9

12. One plant – many names “Synonyms”
Common names:
yarrow millefeuille
achillekraut
herba militaris
nosebleed
woundwort
old man’s pepper
10
Y Luo
蓍草
rölleka
‫اليارو‬‫أخلية‬
Yaru
milfolhada
Obstacle to finding information

13. Common names:
One name – many plants “Homonyms”
“Bluebell”
11
Ambiguity: false conclusions

14. 12
ALWAYS Plant &
Part
What is a ‘herbal drug’?
MPNS captures Plants, Parts and Trade Forms
USUALLY Form
and/or Preparation
e.g. “Root of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey.”
e.g. “Whole dried root of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey”
e.g. “Tincture of Whole dried root of Panax
ginseng C.A.Mey”
+

15. Panax ginseng C.A.Mey.
13

16. Herbal Drug Names
Panax ginseng C.A.Mey.
14
“Ginseng” is cited in legislation or pharmacopoeias
to refer to drugs derived from…

17. 15

18. “Ginseng” is cited in legislation or pharmacopoeias
to refer to drugs derived from…
Herbal Drug Names
Panax ginseng C.A.Mey.
Panax quinquefolius L.
Eleuthrococcus senticosus (Rupr.&Maxim.) Maxim.
Hebanthe erianthos(Poir.) Pedersen
Withania somnifera(L.) Dunal
…..16 different species
Each plant has a unique chemistry
i.e. Great Ambiguity / Risks
16

19. 17
Panax species and some substitutes

20. US and
European
Pharmacopoeia
(2012)
“Cimicifugae rhizoma”
Japanese Pharmacopoeia (2005)
Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010)
1 Name | 5 Species | Differing chemistries and uses!
Actaea simplex Actaea cimicifuga Actaea heracleifolia Actaea dahurica Actaea racemosa
18
Pharmaceutical names

21. Aristolochia fangchiStephania tetrandra
2008: Belgian clinic substituted one product for the other
“Fang ji” (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
= 105 cases of renal failure, urinary cancer and death
• Anti-inflammatory
• Protection kidney
• Prevention diabetes
• Diuretic
• Dysuria
19

22. Global Inconsistency
US Herbs of Commerce
▪ “fen fang ji”
▪ “han fang ji”
British Pharmacopoeia (2012 ed)
▪ “Stephania Tetrandra Root”
European Pharmacopoeia (2012 ed)
▪ “Stephaniae tetrandreae radix”
“Fang Ji”
20

23. Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778)
21

24. What is a Scientific Plant Name ?
22
• written in Latin
• Genus + species + author
• International Code of Nomenclature - formal procedures
e.g. Author must…
• Describe how plant is different
• Cite specimen(s)
“TYPE specimens”
• Formally publish
“Hocus pocus Bob”

25. 23
Specialist identifies specimen
as being from a NEW species.
Digital id (Barcode):
Links specimen to DNA,
Chemistry, seeds, etc.
Unique ID =
Collector’s name
+
unique collection no.
Establish NEW name &
publish name with description.
Reference this collection.
Specimen recognised as
‘TYPE’

26. Kew Herbarium
Reference collection
dating from 1700s
7-8 million specimens
24

27. Why Use Scientific Names?
meaning
Fixed
25
Unique
Global
Legislation
& Regulation

28. Global - Comprehensive - Authoritative
Nomenclature:
International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
ALL 1.6 million names; Persistent identifiers;
300k edits/yr.
Electronic Submission
Taxonomy:
World Checklist
ALL 340K plants; synonymy + geography
250K edits/yr
Peer reviewed
Information:
Plants of the World Online
Multiple digital resources – incl images
Ambition: Encyclopaedic
26

29. So that’s all
sorted then……?
27

30. Too many names: 1.6 million scientific names for 350K plants
c. 16 synonyms/medicinal plant
28
Obstacles to using scientific names

31. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Legislation citing 2,046 scientific names
Kew validated FDA names and found:
58% correct and follow current taxonomy
20% correct but older synonyms
(24 plants listed under >1 name) => Inconsistent regulation
Synonymy: Ineffective regulation
29
}
16% ambiguous
3% misspelt => Ineffective regulation
3% not plant names!

32. Too many names: 1.6 million scientific names
c. 16 synonyms/medicinal plant
Ambiguity: One binomial - multiple authors
c. 4% of scientific names
30
Obstacles to using scientific names

33. Obstacles to using scientific names
Homonyms: binomial published by >1 author
Ambiguity:
• “Viburnum fragrans Bunge”
• “Viburnum fragrans Loisel”
4 - 5 % of scientific names
“only” 64,000 scientific names !
31
2 scientific names:
referring to 2 different plants}

34. Regulatory failures: homonyms
2002 EU Commission Decision:
OJEC L 2.2.2002 L 33/31
“The botanical variety Illicium anisatum is
scientifically recognised as highly poisonous and
banned from import into the EU…..”
32
effectively banned the import of Star Anise!

35. Homonyms
33
‘Japanese Star Anise’ (Toxic)
Illicium anisatum Linnaeus
common synonyms:
Illicium religiosum S&Z.
Bandianifera anisatum Kuntze
‘Star Anise’
Illicium verum Hook.f.
common synonyms:
Illicium anisatum Lour.
Illicium san-ki Perr.
Bandianifera officianarum Kuntze
And two further homonyms:
Illicium anisatum Bartr. ex Michx.
Illicium anisatum Gaertn.
Ambiguity

36. Too many names: 1.6 million scientific names
c. 16 synonyms/medicinal plant
Ambiguity: One binomial - multiple authors
c. 4% of scientific names
Taxonomy improves: => 10,000 name changes published/yr.
- 2,000 new species
- 4,000 plants move between Genera
- 4,000 species ‘split’/’lumped’
34
Molecular data major driver for
continuing change
Obstacles to using scientific names

37. 35
The World Flora Online
eMonocot
Who do I believe?
Obstacles to using scientific names

38. Consequence: Imprecision in literature
36
Rivera et al. 2014
J. Ethnopharmacology
& J. Phytomedicine
308 articles
9178 names
38% Names:
ambiguous,
imprecise or
misleading
Natural Products Research Nutrition/Food
Multiple journals
50 articles
502 names
93%
Nesbitt et al. 2010
Names:
ambiguous,
imprecise or
misleading

39. 37

40. Public Health
Herbal Trade
Border Control
Natural Product
Research
Medicinal Plant Names Services
Kew Resources
Authoritative
Enriched
38
MPNS
Resource
Medicinal Data
• Source: Regulations, Pharmacopoeias,
Ethnobotany…
• Pharmaceutical, Drug & Common names
• Misspelt scientific names
• Plant Parts
• Trade Forms
World
Checklist
IPNI
Services

41. 39
Version 9 – January 2020 - 28,000 species
170 major health, medicinal references
> 0.4 million alternative (unique) names
+ plant parts and trade forms
Global Comprehensive Unique
The MPNS Resource

42. Finding Data Using MPNS - example
Mu Xiang: Chinese Herb: widely used
But which species is used? What should we call it?
40
➢ Flora of China: “Aucklandia costus Falc.”
➢ Pharmacopoeia: China and Korea: “Aucklandia lappa Decne”
➢ US Herbs of Commerce (FDA): “Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz”
➢ Pharmacopoeia: Japan & Ayurvedic: “Saussurea lappa Clarke”
➢ Kew’s checklist cites 5 scientific synonyms
WHAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED ABOUT THIS PLANT?

43. 41
Search PubMed for
‘Aucklandia costus’
‘Aucklandia costus’
367 publications in
PubMed

44. 42
Search PubMed using
ALL Synonyms
‘Aucklandia costus’ OR
‘Aucklandia lappa’ OR
‘Aplotaxis lappa’ OR
‘Saussurea costus’ OR
‘Saussurea lappa’ OR
‘Theodorea costus’
768 publications in
PubMed
(compared with 367)

45. CONSULTANCY AND TRAINING
SUPPLYING DATA
MPNS Scientific Services
MANAGING YOUR NAMES DATA
4343
Validation: check and enrich your lists of plant names
Harmonisation: map plant lists onto those used by others
Vocabularies & Data: authoritative lists
Web Services: electronic refresh
Consultancy: system design, workflows, standards
Training: best practice and resources

46. MPNS in global drug regulation
44
ISO standard: Identification of Medicinal Products (IDMP):
ISO Standard 2018
‘Controlled
Vocabulary’ from
MPNS
Our Partners
Chinese Pharmacopoeia
Japanese
Health Regulator

47. Best Practice when using names
45

48. But we haven’t won yet…. recent example…..
46

49. 47
Type of name Example # Issues in published article
Latin binomials “Artemisia annua” 8
None complete:
all potentially ambiguous
Common names “dandelion” 4
Imprecision:
scores of plants from multiple families
Herbal formula
“Radix isatidis
granula”
4
Complex mixtures of plants of uncertain
identity
Inconsistent use of pharmaceutical
names
Ingredients “quinine”
12
“Quinine” is common name of >16 plants
– as well as that of a chemical compound
derived from ONE species

50. What’s next ?
Plant Names Services for Health:
- expand scope:
food supplements, allergens, poisonous plants
- improve digital access/ data sharing
- widen audience:
food safety,
poisons clinics,
pharmacovigilance
clinical trials
48

51. MPNS potential applications for Publishing
For managing content
1. comprehensive retrieval – all synonyms
2. disambiguation – detecting and forewarning
3. content enrichment – semantic links
49
For editorial control
1. Automated validation of m/s prior to publication

52. Over to Margie…
50

53. Kew Medical Plant Names Service
Access Innovations, Inc.
A Partnership for Data Enrichment
www.kew.org/mpns

54. The Kew MPNS Data Treasure Trove
• Medical Plant Names Service (MPNS)
• Plant Names Service for Health (PNSfH).
• 28,187 species
• Average of 14.7 synonyms (up to 16 in v9)
• Harvested from at least 170 reference files
• Over 415,180 unique names
• Full information records with references

55. Three Files of Plant Information
• 36,980 unique plant names, & IDs,
• Along with confidence level, and
• hierarchy, (family, genus, species, authors, …)
• 257,764 synonyms for
• 30,641 of the 36,980 plants
• 160,479 “common” names
• for 27,125 of the 36,980 plants

56. Merging Technology and Science
• MPNS database
• 14.7 synonyms / alt names per plant
• Access Innovations Data Harmony MAIstro software
• Term management
• AI for term disambiguation, identification, extraction
• Preferred term use solves misidentification

57. How to do that?
• First tag all the articles with the preferred name
• Use the worlds authoritative database to make that happen
• Use the Kew MPNS AutoTagging service
• Tag both the retrospective collection – back file
• All forthcoming publications as they are submitted for publication
• Add a synonymy capability to search
• Make all the alternative names searchable
• Insure the search system points to the authoritative / preferred name
• Then all tagged documents are found and presented

58. Thesaurus Master
Machine Aided Indexer
(M.A.I.™)
Enriched
Database
Repository
Search
Presentation Layer
Increases
Accuracy
Preferred form mapped
Browse by Subject
Auto-completion
Synonymy
Broader Terms
Narrower Terms
Related Terms
Client Taxonomy
Search
Software
Client Data
Full Text
HTML, PDF,
Data Feeds, etc.
MPNS
Source data
The Workflow
Tag with
correct name
update
database
with tags
Build
Search
inverted index
Provide
enhanced
search
Source
Data / articles

59. What Else Could I Do?
• Link the internal reference to the MPNS Database
• Provides a resource for your community
• Links to the prime references
• Provides vetted information on all medicinal plants

60. Expanding the Data
• 10 % or 2,540 plant ids have no synonyms.
• These quickly get a match rule
• 90% of the data file have extensive synonyms
• Programmatic rules built for all
• Synonymy and proximity
Let’s look at some more details …

64. Lots of Synonyms
Family Names
Genus
Species
Varietal
Full Term
Records

65. Preferred name, preferred form
Additional Fields

66. Why Support MPNS?
• Can’t search all the names! 14.7 synonyms
• Difficult for any researcher to find all the pertinent literature
• Especially the well documented uses and variety within the
database.
• Negative consequences of misidentification
• Misidentification fosters illegal trade in bogus herbals
• That cheats both consumers and indigent farmers in developing
nations

67. Helping the Reader /Public
• Taxonomic nomenclature is not native to most authors
• They use what was handed to them as a named sample
• Others will use a different name
• How do we get everyone to the same name?

68. Helping the Searcher
• Use a main preferred term so that search can surface all relevant
articles
• Need all the articles about this plant’s medicinal use
• Do not need things about another plant known by a similar common
name

69. Value
• Semantic enrichment supports metadata and search
• Time savings
• More accurate and in-depth research.
• It allows the formation of a platform for better science
• Better communication between researchers world wide
• Being able to reference a widely available authoritative source is crucial to all
world health
• Enhance scholarly and learned publishing and the research communities it
represents worldwide

70. The Service Offered
Test publisher content using the Medical Plants database
• To
• learn if the science outlined in the paper is valid,
• provide supplemental information, and
• leverage the knowledge and terminology authentication of the MPNS
• How
• API – Full text or a selection of articles
• To the Hosted MPNS
• Using Data Harmony rulebase

71. What Do I Get?
• Using your article content
• Provides the preferred plant name
• Provides full official name
• Links to the full data record
• Supplies the full right name
• Provides a valid trusted reference source
• Enhances the offering to authors
• Enables information sharing by ensuring it is the same plant that
everyone is writing about

72. Similar Files for Adding Metadata and Filtering
• Suspect or Defective Cell lines projects (two projects)
• Suspect Science
• SciGen Detection
• TaxoGene – The Human Genome – 19 synonyms average
• Remove pseudo science /poor science
• Etc.
•Make your data as good as it can be!

73. It was a beautiful evening!
Back to you, Bob

74. 51
Further information
Medicinal Plant Names Services: www.kew.org/mpns
MPNS Newsletter: mailchi.mp/732a7ac370d8/mpns-sign-up
Recent WHO Podcast:
“Drug Safety Matters”
http://www.drugsafetymatterspod.org/618871/4302125-3-
navigating-the-plant-names-jungle-bob-allkin
“State of the World’s Plants” report https://stateoftheworldsplants.com/2017/useful-plants.html
Plants of the World Online www.plantsoftheworldonline.org
ISO Identification of Medicinal Products https://www.fda.gov/industry/fda-resources-data-
standards/identification-medicinal-products-idmp

75. Contacts
BobAllkin
Manager,PlantNamesServices,RoyalBotanicGardensatKew,b.allkin@kew.org
MarjorieHlava
PresidentandChairman,AccessInnovations,Inc.
+1-505-998-0800,mhlava@accessinn.com,www.accessinn.com
BillKasdorf
Principal,Kasdorf&Associates,LLC
+1-734-904-6252,kasdorf.bill@gmail.com,pubtechpartners.com
HeatherKotula
VP,MarketingandCommunications,AccessInnovations,Inc.
+1-505-998-0800,hkotula@accessinn.com,www.accessinn.com