From traditional resource to global commodities: a comparison of Rhodiola species using NMR spectroscopy - metabolomics and HPTLC

The fast developing international trade of products based on traditional knowledge and their value chains has become an important aspect of the ethnopharmacological debate. The structure and diversity of value chains and their impact on the phytochemical composition of herbal medicinal products has been overlooked in the debate about quality problems in transnational trade. Different government policies and regulations governing trade in herbal medicinal products impact on such value chains. Medicinal Rhodiola species, including Rhodiola rosea L. and Rhodiola crenulata (Hook.f. & Thomson) H.Ohba, have been used widely in Europe and Asia as traditional herbal medicines with numerous claims for their therapeutic effects. Faced with resource depletion and environment destruction, R. rosea and R. crenulata are becoming endangered, making them more economically valuable to collectors and middlemen, and also increasing the risk of adulteration and low quality. We compare the phytochemical differences among Rhodiola raw materials available on the market to provide a practical method for Rhodiola authentication and the detection of potential adulterant compounds. Samples were collected from Europe and Asia and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis software and high performance thin layer chromatography techniques were used to analyse the samples. A method was developed to quantify the amount of adulterant species contained within mixtures. We compared the phytochemical composition of collected Rhodiola samples to authenticated samples. Rosavin and rosarin were mainly present in R. rosea whereas crenulatin was only present in R. crenulata. 30% of the Rhodiola samples purchased from the Chinese market were adulterated by other Rhodiola spp. Moreover, 7 % of the raw-material samples were not labelled satifactorily. The utilisation of both 1H-NMR and HPTLC methods provided an integrated analysis of the phytochemical differences and novel identification method for R. rosea and R. crenulata. Using 1H-NMR spectroscopy it was possible to quantify the presence of R. crenulata in admixtures with R. rosea. This quantitative technique could be used in the future to assess a variety of herbal drugs and products. This project also highlights the need to further study the links between producers and consumers in national and trans-national trade.

“Considering there’s supposedly nothing wrong with me, it’s not a life”: Women’s Narratives of Distress, Visiting Herbalists, and Being Well in the 21st Century

Distress can have a profoundly negative impact on the well-being of women (who are the main receivers of treatment for distress). Distress also poses a huge financial problem for the United Kingdom, the cost of which is predicted to reach over £26bn by 2026. A growing body of research has shown that various medicinal plants have potential to treat different aspects of distress. However, there is little research investigating the patient experience of western herbal practice (WHP), and none investigating women’s experiences of WHP for distress. In response, this longitudinal study utilised interviews with twenty-six women who were visiting herbalists for distress across the south-east of The United Kingdom to elicit their stories of distress, as well as their experiences of WHP. The narratives were analysed from a constructionist standpoint, using inductive thematic analysis. The participants’ narratives highlighted the profound impact of everyday distress, whilst feelings associated with distress (anxiety, low mood, isolation, shame and guilt) were frequently communicated via the use of metaphors. These negative feelings, often combined with unsuccessful biomedical encounters, frequently led to the women feeling desperate when first visiting a herbalist. The participants’ experiences of WHP showed that an accessible practitioner and good therapeutic relationship combined with flexible herbal treatment, allowed women with diverse stories of distress to overcome feelings of desperation. Ongoing support allowed the women to feel like they had a safety net as they journeyed from a place of distress, back into the wider world. These findings were supported by more unusual negative accounts, which showed how the herbal therapeutic process could be unsuccessful if elements were missing. This research is of significance as it helps to deepen our understanding of women’s experiences of distress – particularly perceptions of stigma which surround feelings of shame (linked to an inability to cope) and guilt (linked to the perceived impact of distress on others). The research also has relevance for WHP, as it highlights which positive aspects of WHP are of particular importance to women patients who are living with distress.