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Adulteration of Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)
Rhizome, Root, and Extracts
By Ezra Bejar, PhD,a Roy Upton,b and John H.
Cardellina II, PhDc
aAmerican Botanical Council, PO Box
144345,Austin, TX 78714
bAmerican
Herbal Pharmacopoeia, PO
Box 66809, Scotts Valley, CA 95067,
cReevesGroup, 1137 Treefern Drive,
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
*Corresponding author:
email
Keywords: Rhodiola
rosea, rhodiola, rhodiola root, rhodiola root extract, arctic root, arctic
rose, golden root, adulterant, adulteration, substitution, Rhodiola crenulata, Crassulaceae
Goal: The goal of this bulletin is to
provide timely information and/or updates on issues of adulteration,
substitution, potential interchangeable use, and mislabeling of Rhodiola rosea rhizome/root, in particular
with other species from the genus Rhodiola,
e.g., R. crenulata. The bulletin may
serve as guidance for quality control personnel, the international herbal products
industry, regulators, and extended natural products community in general. It is
also intended to summarize the scientific data and analytical methods on the
occurrence of species substitution and/or adulteration, the market situation,
and economic and safety consequences for the consumer and the industry.
1 General Information
1.1
Common name for Rhodiola rosea: Rhodiola1
The American Herbal Products Association’s Herbs of
Commerce, 2nd edition1
also applies the Standardized Common
Name “rhodiola” to R. algida and R. kirilowii. (see section 1.10)
1.2
Other common names:
English: Arctic rose, king’s crown, roseroot, Arctic root, rosewort, snowdown rose, Tibeten rhodiola root1-4
Chinese:
Hong jing tian (红景天)1,3,5-8
Danish: Rosenrod
Dutch: Rozewortel
French: Orpin rose, rhodiole, racine arctique,
racine d’or
German: Rosenwurz
Italian: Rhodiola, rodiola, radice d'oro, radice ártica
Japanese: Iwa-benkei (イワベンケ)
Mongolian: Yagaan mugez, altan gagnuur9
Norwegian: Rosenrot
Russian: Rodióla rózovaya (Родиола розовая), zolotoy
koren (золотой корень – golden root)
Spanish: Raíz
dorada Siberiana, raíz del Ártico, rizoma de Rhodiola
Swedish: Rosenrot
1.3 Accepted
Latin binomial: Rhodiola rosea L.10
1.4
Synonyms: Sedum rhodiola
DC., Sedum rosea (L.) Scop., Sedum roseum (L.) Scop.10
1.5 Common names for Rhodiola
crenulata:
English: Bigflower rhodiola root,11
Rhodiola crenulata1
Chinese: Da hua hong jing tian (大花红景天)5-7
1.6
Botanical family: Crassulaceae
1.7 Distribution: Rhodiola
rosea is native to boreal
areas of Eastern Europe, China, and North America; its range extends from China
to Russia, US Northern states, northern Canada, and Alaska. In New England it occurs along the Maine
Coast and in southern Vermont. Disjunctive populations extend from the southern
Appalachians to North Carolina. Taxonomic lumpers include the genus Rhodiola in a broader concept of Sedum, though most modern floras follow
Linnaeus in segregating Rhodiola from
Sedum. It is important to be aware
that some references to Rhodiola rosea
may treat the species as Sedum rosea
or Sedum roseum. In the Arctic, plants typically occur in crevices or among patches
of moss and other vegetation, often near shores.
9,10 The highest
plant densities are found on grassy or rocky slopes on the weather side of
coasts (in the north) or mountains (in the south). Depending on the latitude,
the plants grow at altitudes from 800–3000 m (2625–9843 ft). In China, Rhodiola
rosea grows in the northern to
central provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu, Shanxi, Hebei, and Jilin.
Rhodiola crenulata (J.D. Hooker & Thomson) H Ohba is
native to the high mountains and plateaus close to the Himalayas of China,
Bhutan, Nepal, and the Indian province of Sikkim. In China, R. crenulata is found in the
southwestern provinces of Xizang (Tibet), Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan.12,13
1.8 Plant part and form: Rhodiola
rosea raw material is sold in the United States in bulk, either in the form
of dried rhizome, dried rhizome/root, or standardized extracts of dried rhizome
or dried rhizome/root. According to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the raw
plant material consists of the dried roots and rhizomes of R.
rosea L. containing
not less than (NLT) 0.3%
of the phenylpropanoid glycosides rosarin, rosavin and rosin (these three
compounds are also collectively referred to as ‘rosavins’) calculated as
rosavin, and NLT 0.08% of salidroside, calculated on a dry weight basis.8
Hydro-alcoholic extracts of R. rosea roots and rhizomes should contain
NLT 90.0% and not more than (NMT) 110.0% of the labeled amount of the above-mentioned
phenylpropanoid glycosides (rosavins), and NLT 90.0% and NMT 110.0% of the
labeled amount of salidroside.7 In Canada, R. rosea is sold as the dried root/rhizome, as an extract (standardized
to contain 1-6% rosavins, or 0.8-3% salidroside), or as a tincture.
14
Rhodiola
rosea is
sold in the EU as dried root/rhizome, an herbal tincture or dry extract, (drug:extract ratio
1.5-5:1, extraction solvent 67-70% ethanol, v/v).10
1.9
General use(s): Rhodiola rosea has a long history of use
as a medicinal plant, appearing in the body of collected knowledge (materia medica)
of many European countries15
and included in several traditional herbal
systems in Asia and North America.5,6,14
Between 1748 and 1961, diverse medicinal applications for R. rosea have been reported in the scientific
literature of Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Iceland, and the Soviet Union,
principally considered as an adaptogen, or an agent stabilizing
physiological processes and promoting homeostasis,
with various
health-promoting effects.2,15
In Europe
it is considered a traditional herbal
medicinal product used for temporary relief of stress symptoms, such as fatigue
and sensation of weakness.5,16
Uses in the European Union (EU),
Australia, and New Zealand include support of cognitive function, such as mental
focus and mental stamina, a source of antioxidants, and a source of immune function-enhancing
constituents. In North America and
Brazil, it is primarily used as an adaptogen, and to improve athletic
performance by reducing recovery time after prolonged
exercise.
2,14,17-19
In Central Asia, R. rosea was used traditionally as a remedy for the prevention and treatment of cold and
flu.2 In Mongolia, R. rosea is traditionally used for fever,
lung inflammation, and strengthening of the body, as well as a mouthwash for
bad breath.
62
The genus Rhodiola has about 90 species possibly having
originated in the mountainous regions of southwest China and the Himalayas. Altogether,
over 20 species are used throughout Asia, in some cases interchangeably. Specific
uses are given today in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to R. crenulata, R. kirilowii, R. quadrifida,
R. sacra, and R. yunnanensis; the
last four species have been often used as a substitute and even sold as R.
crenulata in the Chinese markets.9
Rhodiola crenulata
uses include tonification of qi, activation of blood circulation, and unblocking the
meridians.11 Other species also
mentioned as being used in TCM include R.
atuntsuensis, R. algida, R. coccinea, R. himalensis, and R. subopposita. In Tibetan medicine,
species such as R. alsia and R. chrysanthemifolia have also been used
as a substitute to the more popular R.
crenulata.9
According to traditional
Chinese medicine expert Subhuti Dharmananda, PhD, of the Institute for
Traditional Medicine in Portland, Oregon, the herb entered into some folk
applications (local uses, not tied to the theoretical framework of TCM), but it
was not an herb commonly recorded in standard Chinese materia medica. Hong jing tian is the Chinese denomination
given to the root and rhizome of several Rhodiola
species. It is described as an adaptogenic herb that regulates
physiological functions, and is believed to have a central stimulant action.
Its general tonic actions are similar to those of ginseng (Panax ginseng, Araliaceae) and root and rhizome of Eleutherococcus
senticosus (Araliaceae).
[email to S. Gafner, May 5, 2017]
1.10 Nomenclature considerations: In the United States, many rhodiola
products in the marketplace bear the R.
rosea binomial in the nutritional/supplement facts panel listing
ingredients on the label. Due to this species-specific statement, any mixing,
dilution, substitution, or replacement with other Rhodiola species will lead to a product’s being considered
misbranded. Regardless of the law, the interchangeable use of different species
within the same genus may create some variations in chemical composition, which
could affect quality, safety and efficacy.
The first edition of Herbs
of
Commerce (1992),20 formerly the basis for standard nomenclature
for herbal dietary supplements in the United States and the official document for
commercial nomenclature cited in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), does
not include any Rhodiola species. The second edition of Herbs of Commerce (2000)1 includes R.
algida, R. kirilowii, and R. rosea under
the standardized common name “rhodiola”,
which means these species should be
labeled as “rhodiola” or with the correct scientific name. The roots and
rhizomes of these species are also assigned the Chinese pinyin name hong jing tian. Rhodiola crenulata is
listed separately with the standardized common name of “Rhodiola crenulata” and the Chinese pinyin name da hua hong jing tian. However, the CFR
codification was not updated to include this second edition of Herbs of
Commerce.In the Pharmacopoeia of the Peoples’ Republic
of China (2010 Edition –
Part I), the officially accepted species is Rhodiola crenulata and the medicinally
used part is the dried root and rhizome. However, the Chinese pharmacopoeia lists hong jing tian rather than da
hua hong jing tian as the common name of R. crenulata.
2 Market
2.1
Importance in the trade and market dynamics: The use of R. rosea
as an ingredient in dietary supplements is quite extensive. According to the market research company SPINS, sales of R.
rosea in the natural channel in
the United States have been stable for four consecutive years from 2013-2016 (Table 1). Rhodiola
rosea
ranked #35 in 2013, and #36 in 2016, with sales in the range of US $2.2-2.5
million in the years 2013-2016. However, in the Mainstream Multi-outlet
channel, R. rosea ranked #11 in 2013
with $17.7 million in sales, sliding to #28 in 2016 with $10.1 million in sales.
The decrease in the Mainstream Multi-outlet channel is thought to be multifactorial.21
As noted above, the sales data for
2013-2016 (Table 1) indicate a gradual decrease in sales of R. rosea-based products in the United
States. Retail pricing for the rhizome is in the range of US $30-100/kg
dried rhizome, according to an informal Internet search conducted in September
2016. However, standardized R. rosea
extract (3% rosavins/1% salidroside) is sold by suppliers to dietary supplement
manufacturers in a price ranging from 80-110 €/kg in the EU and US $70-100/kg,
depending on the extract quality. (A. Bily [Naturex] oral communication to E.
Bejar, October 5, 2016)
Table
1. Rhodiola Dietary Supplement Sales in the US from 2013-2016
Channel
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
|
Rank
|
Sales [US$]
|
Rank
|
Sales [US$]
|
Rank
|
Sales [US$]
|
Rank
|
Sales [US$]
|
Naturala
|
35
|
2,214,255
|
32
|
2,561,873
|
35
|
2,461,235
|
36
|
2,588,730
|
Mainstream
Multi-Outletb
|
11
|
17,716,775
|
17
|
14,188,978
|
27
|
10,624,592
|
28
|
10,080,448
|
aAccording
to SPINS (SPINS does not track sales from Whole Foods Market.)bAccording
to SPINS/IRI (The Mainstream Multi-Outlet channel was formerly known as the
Food, Drug, and Mass Market channel [FDM], exclusive of possible sales at
Walmart, a major retailer in the US and beyond.)
Sources: Smith T, et al.22; T. Smith (American
Botanical Council) e-mail to S. Gafner, September 2, 2015 and September 3, 2015.
K. Kawa (SPINS) e-mail to S. Gafner, July 11, 2016.
2.2
Supply sources: The
largest natural resources for R. rosea are
in Russia. The major part of the growing range cannot be exploited due to
difficulties in access or sparse populations. Most R. rosea raw material is collected in China by wildcrafters, whose subsistence
depends on selling their
fresh produce at regional collection sites. Most of the root plant material is gathered
in the summertime from a minimum of four-year old plants by digging under the plant,
removing most of the rhizome/root and (hopefully) leaving a part of the rhizome/root
for the plant to regenerate over the next years. Rhodiola crenulata is often collected for the Chinese market in
some regions in China and Mongolia where both species may share ecological
niches. Wildcrafters should be able to distinguish R. rosea from R. crenulata
easily during the collection season, since R. rosea has yellow flowers with yellow to reddish buds, while R.
crenulata flowers are purple.12
The Xinjiang region is one of the most
prolific producers of R. rosea with
4-5 collection sites selling about 500 tons of dry rhizomes annually. The dried
roots/rhizomes are cleaned, dried, and sold to one of several East China extract
manufacturers; most such extracts are sold abroad. Other regions of China,
Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and North America have a more limited supply of R. rosea, and their contribution to the
US market is small, except for a few select products. Most
Mongolian and Kazakhstani R. rosea
end up in the Russian market at a higher price. (A. Bily and C. Pierron [Naturex]
oral communication to E. Bejar. September 29, 2016).
Projects for cultivation of R.
rosea exist in Denmark, Germany, Canada, Alaska, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and
Norway. Production in the latter two countries is small and limited to supply
local and regional markets.
2.3
Raw material forms: Dried
rhizome/root is sold in whole or powdered form, or after extraction with alcohol-water
mixtures and subsequent spray-drying. The extract may contain suitable added substances as carriers. Various lots
of extracts are often mixed to meet standardization requirements of the USP monographs.7,8
Because
wildcrafters collect the rhizome (with root material) exclusively, and leave
parts of the root with the aerial parts of the plant behind to regenerate, it is rare to find
adulteration of R. rosea rhizome with
aboveground plant parts. However, suppliers from China sell R. rosea aerial plant (herb), flowers, and
stems according to their certificates of analysis. The sale of R. rosea herb and flower extracts,
correctly labeled as such, is not within the scope of this bulletin.
3 Substitution
3.1 Known substitutes and adulterants: The
main concern regarding the authenticity and quality of R. rosea is the admixture of, or substitution with, rhizome/root
material from other Rhodiola species. Over 90 Rhodiola species have been documented in the world and in China 73
different Rhodiola species have been reported, mainly in the northwest
and southwest regions, such as Tibet and the Sichuan province.19 Many
Rhodiola species have similar pinyin names
(hong jing tian)23 and are used interchangeably
in China and other parts of Asia, including R.
crenulata R. heterodonta, R.
kirilowii, R. quadrifida, and R.
semenovii.1,15,19 However, R.
crenulata is the only species formally accepted in the PPRC.11 Because of the
number of imports from Asia, mainly from China, to the United States and to the European herbal
supplement industry, R. rosea raw
materials are often mixed or interchanged with other Asian species, including R. crenulata, but also other Rhodiola species.19,23
Adulteration with materials other than
those from the Rhodiola genus, e.g.,
with 5-hydroxytryptophan, has been described by Booker et al.,19 but seems to be infrequent.
Herbal medicine experts have expressed
contrasting views about the interchangeable use of R. rosea and other Rhodiola
species in standard-setting documents and reference textbooks. The European
Medicines Agency’s community herbal monograph specifies the use of R. rosea for rhodiola-containing
products that are marketed as an herbal drug for temporary relief of symptoms
of stress.4,5 Similarly, the highly regarded German textbook
Wichtl – Teedrogen und Phytopharmaka24 indicates that rhizomes from
other Rhodiola species may appear as adulterants of R.
rosea. However, the USP Herbal
Medicines Compendium lists R. crenulata, R. kirilowii, R. sacra, R. sachalinensis, and R.
yunnanensis, as confounding materials for R.
rosea rhizome.8 This is a more accurate way to characterize
the substitution or admixing of related species within a genus. In the United
States, by regulatory definition, replacement by, or admixing with a species
that is listed under the same common name in the American Herbal Products
Association’s Herbs of Commerce, 1st edition,20 is considered substitution, unless the
product label notes a particular species in the ”active ingredients” section. Hence,
products labeled to contain “rhodiola”, but not specifying a particular species
of Rhodiola, may be derived from a
number of Rhodiola species (see
section 1.1).
3.2 Sources of information
supporting substitution of rhodiola and frequency of occurrence: With the use of a rapid resolution
liquid chromatography (RRLC, a variation of high-performance liquid
chromatography [HPLC]) method, Ma et al. found that approximately one-third of
the commercial rhodiola rhizome powder extract samples they tested did not show
a consistent RRLC profile and lacked the characteristic peaks of rosarin,
rosavin, and rosin present in authentic R.
rosea rhizome.25 However, absence of rosavins may not always be indicative of adulteration. If not handled properly, rosavins may
be subject to enzymatic degradation and thus not be present in a finished
product (Y-C Ma email to S. Gafner, May 26, 2017).
Booker
et al. analyzed 39 raw materials of products from different vendors in the United Kingdom (UK) labeled as R.
rosea.
Most products
were sold without any registration (i.e., generally unlicensed food supplements available on the internet or from retail outlets),
although the researchers included two Traditional Herbal Medicine products
registered under the traditional herbal medicine products directive (THMPD).19 Registration of a product under the THMPD requires the
submission of appropriate data supporting the safety of the product
(qualitative and quantitative composition, manufacturing process and controls, potential
risks to the environment, therapeutic benefits and dosage, contraindications
and known adverse reactions, pharmacovigilance data, and packaging
information), but does not include the need for preclinical or clinical data. Products
were compared to R. rosea crude drug
reference material and two bulk powders. The samples were analyzed by 1H-NMR
(nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy and high-performance thin-layer
chromatography (HPTLC). Results from 1H-NMR were evaluated
statistically using principal component analysis (PCA). Rhodiola rosea products registered under the THMPD were confirmed
to contain authentic R. rosea,
but seven (about 25%) unregistered food supplements labeled as R. rosea products were determined to be substituted
with various other Rhodiola species,
and in one instance adulterated with synthetic 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). The
PCA model used to analyze 1H NMR spectroscopy data appeared to
discriminate poorly between dietary supplement products containing R. rosea extracts and those extracts
containing R. crenulata or other Rhodiola species when using the entire
NMR spectrum, likely due to the presence of excipients. Restricting the 1H
NMR spectrum to the aromatic region allowed the distinction among R. rosea and various other Rhodiola species. The HPTLC method
detected both admixed/substituted and adulterated samples effectively.19
Several analyses
of crude samples of R. crenulata rhizome confirmed that the rhizome does
not contain rosavin, but does contain salidroside and other p-tyrosol
derivatives, a class of compounds also found in R. rosea.15,26
Salidroside is associated with increase of exercise tolerance.27
Another Rhodiola
species, R sachalinensis, was found to contain both rosavin and
salidroside, but at lower concentrations than R. rosea;23,29 contrarily, a TLC analysis by Kurkin et al.28 did not find any rosavins in R.
sachalinensis.23,29
Booker et
al. verified the identity of 45 commercial samples (labeled to contain R.
rosea [N = 11], R. crenulata [N = 7], R. sachalinensis [N = 4], R.
quadrifida [N = 3] or Rhodiola spp. [N = 20]), collected from retailers,
local markets, and the internet in China and the United Kingdom, by HPTLC and 1H
NMR with subsequent statistical analysis. An analysis of the 11 samples labeled
to contain R. rosea indicated that eight (72.7%) contained other Rhodiola species, with four samples containing R.
crenulata and one R.
serrata.
23,29 Three of
the seven purported R. crenulata samples were also composed of the
incorrect species, containing either R. serrata (N = 2) or an unknown
material (N = 1).
An unpublished investigation from 2008
by researchers of the University of Ottawa and the Montreal Botanical Garden of the quality of 20 commercial products sold as tablets, capsules, or liquid
extracts on the North American market found salidroside (14.4-45.7 mg/g of
product) and rosavins (6.1-68.5 mg/g of product) to be present in every sample.
The data, obtained using HPLC-UV, suggest that these products contained
authentic R. rosea rhizome and root
(A. Cuerrier [Montreal Botanical Garden] email to S. Gafner, November 8, 2016).
3.3
Accidental vs intentional substitution: Both intentional and accidental Rhodiola substitution seems to occur
during collection based on anecdotal (A.
Bily and C.Pierron [Naturex], oral communication to E. Bejar, September 29,
2016) and scientific evidence.
23,29,30
This has been confirmed in a systematic field collection
study, which identified several factors contributing to a substitution
of Rhodiola species: (1) the lack of
genuine raw material, (2) confusion over the (vernacular) Chinese pinyin name
of the plant when sourcing from China, and, (3) deliberate substitution during
the (collection and) manufacturing of a dietary supplement.
23
In the Altai region, an area in
southern Siberia in Russia, there are 24 different species of the genus Rhodiola that could be misclassified as R.
rosea by collectors.15
Resource depletion and habitat destruction have
led to the disappearance of Rhodiola species
in many locations, as most raw materials are wildcrafted and the plant needs
several years to regenerate. In some geographical areas, the two most frequently
used species, R. crenulata and R. rosea, are becoming vulnerable or at-risk
(one source uses the terms “threatened” and “critically endangered” when
referring to specific areas),31
making them more expensive
to obtain.
23,30,31
Lack
of proper collection procedures and
the possible interchangeability of Rhodiola
species may also contribute to R. rosea
and/or R. crenulata being frequently
substituted by or accidentally substituted with other Rhodiola species. The fact that most Rhodiola species (in particular, R.
rosea and R. crenulata) are morphologically distinct suggests
that the lack of raw material definitions and collection guidelines leads
collectors to pick or substitute with whatever Rhodiola is locally available. After removal of the aboveground
parts, the similarity in the root/rhizome morphology makes it practically impossible
to distinguish one species macroscopically from the other and separate them before
processing, although they can be distinguished chemically.
Different
Rhodiola species, including R. rosea and R. crenulata, can be found on the Chinese
market. Often, these are neither sold separately nor well-identified; therefore,
there is a high potential of substitution and admixing among these species.
While
R. crenulata root/rhizome is preferred over R. rosea in TCM, this species is
sometimes substituted with R. rosea, R. serrata, or other Rhodiola
species.
23,30
The prevalence of R. crenulata on the Chinese market is
most likely due to its greater abundance; it is not considered to be a
substitute or an adulterant for R. rosea.
Overall, the Chinese market is driven by Chinese names, not Latin names, and
the Chinese name hong jing tian as an
umbrella term generally refers to multiple species of Rhodiola, of which R.
crenulata is the most abundant in trade. In China, it is rare for
vendors to differentiate the various species, and most vendors have little
knowledge about rhodiola because it has a short history of use in TCM and
trade. They sell it because it is popular as a general health food item but
most vendors know little about it beyond its province of origin, which does not
always correlate to the species or morphological form.
As certain Rhodiola
species, e.g., R. rosea and
R. crenulata, are becoming scarce in the field, other Rhodiola
species such as R. fastigiata, R. quadrifida, R. sacra, and R.
serrata appear to be replacing them in the market.
32 For example, in a recent analysis of raw material
samples purchased from drug stores and hospitals in China, only 40% of the
samples labeled to contain R. crenulata
were conclusively identified as such, while 40% were replaced with R. serrata, and the remaining samples with
other Rhodiola species.
32
As demand for the rhizome of R. rosea and R.
crenulata increases, so does the cost, creating a greater risk that species
substitution will occur.
Although substitution of R. rosea products with R.
crenulata is considered the main problem with respect to authenticity of R. rosea species,
field work data suggest that other species are being
implicated. A particular case is R. sachalinensis, a species that has a
similar composition to R. rosea,
containing rosavins (the marker compounds used to identify R.
rosea), as well as salidroside, and is considered by some botanists to be the
same species as R. rosea.
Several other methods have been developed
since then, including an HPTLC method with very clear criteria to distinguish R. rosea from other
Rhodiola species.23,36,37
Kurkin et al. noted that salidroside
was common in the genus Rhodiola, but
among 11 Rhodiola species that were
tested, only R. rosea contained the rosavins, allowing one to use the presence or absence of these compounds to possibly differentiate among species.28
The lack of rosavins in R. sachalinensis was later refuted by other
researchers.23,29 Various HPLC methods have been
reported in the literature to distinguish R.
rosea chemically from other species.
38-40
The use of rosarin, rosavin, and rosin as marker
compounds is critical to ensure identity of R.
rosea products. Identification of R. rosea products containing other
Rhodiola species may require not only identification of the presence of the rosavins,
but also quantification of the amount of each and their ratios. Other
methods have been suggested, including NMR-based metabolomics,
23,41
and HPTLC. The suite of methods appears to be helpful in
detecting irregularities in commercial R.
rosea products.
A DNA barcoding approach to identify Rhodiola species, based on 189 accessions representing 48 of the 55
species of Rhodiola described in the Flora of China,7 has been
reported.42 The results suggested that the internal
transcribed spacer (ITS) genomic region was best suited for use as a single-locus
barcode, resolving 66% of the Rhodiola
species. Combining five loci (rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, trnLF, and ITS)
increased the resolution to 81% of the species. However, the DNA method may not
be considered adequate when used alone in quality control procedures, since close to 20% of species
cannot be distinguished, and also due to the inability to discern the plant part. Various DNA-based approaches have also
shown little success in species identification of highly processed botanical
ingredients, e.g., extracts.
4 Conclusions
Substitution or mixing of R.
rosea root/rhizome raw material and
extracts with other species, especially R.
crenulata, remains an issue of regulatory concern for manufacturers and marketers of
products labeled as R. rosea. Substitution of R. rosea with other Rhodiola species can be detected botanically and through chemical analysis
(e.g., HPTLC, HPLC and NMR). The increasing scarcity of wildcrafted R. rosea and R. crenulata, as well as reliance on complex supply chains
involving many stakeholders (especially many collectors in diverse regions, particularly
in China), is increasing the likelihood for substitution and admixing with
other Rhodiola species, particularly R. fastigiata, R. quadrifida, R. sacra, and R.
serrata.
5
References
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