Mihael Cristin Ichim

The International Barcode of Life (iBOL) initiative is building a globally accessible DNA-based system for species identification and discovery. This paper outlines the mission and strategic priorities for the iBOL community in Europe (iBOL Europe), set in a global context. The mission of iBOL Europe is to produce, curate, and provide access to a complete DNA barcode reference library of European eukaryotic biodiversity, catalyzing species discovery and enabling comprehensive, harmonized species identification and biomonitoring, and supporting the global iBOL program. Immediate objectives include completing reference libraries for priority taxa, democratizing access to sequencing technologies, and strengthening a distributed community of practice. Key actions identified span five thematic areas: community building, sample collection and taxonomic verification, sequencing infrastructure, data management, and mainstreaming DNA-based approaches to meet societal needs. The strategy emphasizes integration with European research infrastructures to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience for biodiversity genomics in Europe.

The study aims to establish optimal integrated analytical solutions for identifying the presence of vulnerable medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) in food supplements, thereby enabling the assessment of their compliance and quality. These analytical approaches are essential for promoting the sustainable use of biodiversity by verifying the identity, authenticity, and traceability of food supplements derived from such MAPs. MAPs and their derived products are an essential source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. The use of food supplements, as a complementary approach to synthetic drugs, is steadily increasing and plays a significant role in supporting human health and well-being. In this context, the World Health Organization has reported a growing global demand for MAPs, which has led to the overexploitation and degradation of natural habitats for several plant species, such as Gentiana lutea L. and Rhodiola rosea L. The overharvesting of MAPs with special conservation status, particularly when used as raw materials in food supplements, poses a significant threat to the survival of these species. To address and monitor these concerns, there is an urgent need for reliable and cost-effective methods to identify and authenticate plant species in complex formulations. A relevant example of such a vulnerable species is G. lutea, which is included in various food supplements due to its content of triterpenoids, flavonoids, secoiridoids, and iridoids, all of which are biologically significant for human health. This species is globally protected, with its collection, use, and market sales regulated by specific legislation. To identify the presence of such protected species in food supplements (and also to test their authenticity), a variety of phytochemical methods can be used, either alone or in combination: UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). UV-Vis spectrophotometry is a common and inexpensive method for identifying specific classes of phytochemical compounds, providing preliminary data. TLC is a cost-effective and reliable technique for detecting the presence of a targeted species, offering several advantages: simplicity, speed, flexibility, and multiple detection methods capabilities. HPLC is a standard analytical method used for the quality control of MAPs-based food supplements, primarily for identifying and quantifying marker compounds. GC-MS is used to analyze volatile oils and to assess the fatty acid profile of fixed oils. Our results strongly suggest that combining DNA barcoding techniques with phytochemical methods provides a thorough evaluation of the quality of botanical preparations.

This study aims to identify the challenges associated with the use of medicinal and aromatic plant species (MAPs), found under special protection and conservation status, in food supplements and to propose solutions for their sustainable use. According to TRAFFIC, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 medicinal and aromatic plant species are harvested from the wild. In Europe, approximately 150 of the 1,500 MAP species in trade are considered threatened due to unsustainable harvesting practices. Notable examples include Adonis vernalis L., Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., Gentiana lutea L., and Arnica montana L. G. lutea is listed under Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of wild fauna and flora, as well as Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. In Romania, the species is classified as “vulnerable” and is subject to strict conservation and restoration measures, including a ban on wild harvesting. Despite these legal protections, we identified 39 food supplements containing Gentiana spp., as notified by the IBA, including 6 products that specifically list G. lutea. In many cases, the species was not clearly specified on the label. Some products claim that the raw material was sourced from controlled areas in Romania; however, it remains unclear whether the plants were harvested from the wild or cultivated. To date, we have found no verifiable evidence of cultivated populations of G. lutea in Romania. A. montana is included in the CE Directive 92/43 EEC (Habitats Directive), which lists plant and animal species of Community interest whose collection from nature and exploitation are likely to be subject to management measures. Although A. montana was once common in mountain meadows, a rapid decline has been observed due to habitat fragmentation, degradation of meadows, and overcollection. As a result, the species is considered one of the most endangered meadow species in Central Europe. Overharvesting from the natural habitats of species like those mentioned earlier can cause their endangerment and even extinction. Additionally, the lack of traceability hinders conservation efforts, including the establishment of appropriate collection quotas. To reduce pressure on these species in their natural habitats, various strategies could be considered: development of traditional cultures for the endangered species; development of in vitro cultivation techniques for biomass and bioactive compounds production, as well as for establishing conventional cultures; identification of new sources of bioactive compounds, either by using other species with similar phytochemical profiles that are not under conservation concern or whose cultivation is simpler and more cost-effective; improvement of legislation related to the traceability of MAPs; development of new analytical methods to detect the presence of these species with special status in food supplements.

Herbal food supplements produced from medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are becoming increasingly popular to complement synthetic pharmaceuticals. This category of products is regulated under more lenient food product regulations rather than the stringent rules applicable to medicines. The effectiveness and safety of these products rely on various factors, including the varying phytochemical composition of the original plant material, potential adulteration, substitution and contamination from biological and chemical sources. The SAFEMAPS scientific research project aims to provide integrated analytical solutions that enhance the compliance and quality of food supplements derived from aromatic and medicinal plants. This project seeks to improve the safe use of these products by consumers, while promoting the sustainable exploitation of plant biodiversity. Within this project, an experimental model will be developed to assess the identity, authenticity, traceability and quality of herbal food supplements. This model includes analytical solutions that integrate phytochemical and molecular genetic analyses. The proposed solutions will prioritise the needs of the food supplements industry, particularly regarding the quality and compliance of herbal products sold in Romania and across the European single market. These solutions will also tackle various aspects of the supply chain, including growers or collectors of medicinal and aromatic plants, processors, importers and final consumers.

The genome edited crops and foods are commercially cultivated and marketed already at global level, rapidly expanding towards new applications and plant species, and successfully complementing the genetically modified ones. In the European Union, the genome edited plants have to follow the two-decade-old regulatory framework for genetically modified organisms. The decrease of both, number of notifications for field trials, and hectarage and countries commercially cultivating genetically modified plants, registered in the last decade in the European Union, has been closely followed by lower levels of awareness and concerns expressed by the European Union citizens about their use in farming and food production, as recorded by a long time series of Eurobarometers surveys. In contrast, in the four recent years only, the awareness about genome editing among the European Union citizens has significantly increased, reaching more than the half of the one about genetically modified products, along with the number of concerned European Union citizens about genome editing which also has doubled. The public opinion about genome edited crops and food products needs to be monitored further as it decisively influences the new regulatory framework to be proposed by the European Commission and therefore the extent to which the European consumer will benefit from the new biotechnologies.

Herbal products comprise a wide spectrum of locally, nationally or internationally commercialized commodities. As these products have an increasingly important position in healthcare systems worldwide, a detailed product quality assessment is of crucial importance. For the quality evaluation of commercial herbal products, a wide range of methods were used, from simpler, quicker, and cost-effective HPTLC, to hyphenated methods with MS or NMR, where more precise quantification or specific structural information is required. Additionally, most of the methods have been coupled with chemometric tools, such as PCA, or PDA, for the multivariate analysis of the high amount of data generated by chromatograms, electropherograms or spectra. The chemical methods have revealed the widespread presence of low or variable quality herbal products in the marketplace. The majority of analytical investigations present major, qualitative and quantitative, inter-product variations of their chemical composition, ranging from missing ingredients, to strikingly and unnaturally high concentrations of some compounds. Moreover, the inter-batch quality variations were frequently reported, as well as the presence of some undesirable substances. The chemical analysis of herbal products is a vital component to raise the overall awareness of quality in the herbal market and generate a quality driven approach.

Chemical methods are the most important and widely used traditional plant identification techniques recommended by national and international pharmacopoeias. We have reviewed the successful use of different chemical methods for the botanical authentication of 2,386 commercial herbal products, sold in 37 countries spread over six continents. The majority of the analyzed products were reported to be authentic (73%) but more than a quarter proved to be adulterated (27%). At a national level, the number of products and the adulteration proportions varied very widely. Yet, the adulteration reported for the four countries, from which more than 100 commercial products were purchased and their botanical ingredients chemically authenticated, was 37% (United Kingdom), 31% (Italy), 27% (United States), and 21% (China). Simple or hyphenated chemical analytical techniques have identified the total absence of labeled botanical ingredients, substitution with closely related or unrelated species, the use of biological filler material, and the hidden presence of regulated, forbidden or allergenic species. Additionally, affecting the safety and efficacy of the commercial herbal products, other low quality aspects were reported: considerable variability of the labeled metabolic profile and/or phytochemical content, significant product-to-product variation of botanical ingredients or even between batches by the same manufacturer, and misleading quality and quantity label claims. Choosing an appropriate chemical technique can be the only possibility for assessing the botanical authenticity of samples which have lost their diagnostic microscopic characteristics or were processed so that DNA cannot be adequately recovered.

Ginseng traditional medicines and food supplements are the globally top selling herbal products. Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius and Panax notoginseng are the main commercial ginseng species in herbal medicine. Prices of ginseng products vary widely based on the species, quality, and purity of the used ginseng, and this provides a strong driver for intentional adulteration. Our systematic literature search has reviewed the authenticity results of 507 ginseng-containing commercial herbal products sold in 12 countries scattered across six continents. The analysis of the botanical and chemical identity of all these products shows that 76% are authentic while 24% were reported as adulterated. The number of commercial products as well as the percentage of adulteration varies significantly between continents, being highest in South America (100%) and Australia (75%), and lower in Europe (35%), North America (23%), Asia (21%) and Africa (0%). At a national level, from the five countries for which more than 10 products have been successfully authenticated, the highest percentage of adulterated ginseng products were purchased from Taiwan (49%), followed by Italy (37%), China (21%), and USA (12%), while all products bought in South Korea were reported to be authentic. In most cases, labeled Panax species were substituted with other Panax species, but substitution of ginseng root, the medicinally recommended plant part, with leaves, stems or flowers was also reported. Efficient and practical authentication using biomarkers to distinguish the main ginseng varieties and secondary metabolite spectra for age determination are essential to combat adulteration in the global marketplace.

Since 1996 till 2018, the global area cultivated with GM crops has increased 113-fold, making biotech crops one of the fastest adopted crop technology in the past decades. In the European Union, only two countries still cultivate one available transgenic crop event on minor hectarage. Moreover, the number of notifications for confined field trials has dramatically dropped in the last decade. All these are happening while the EU legislation on GM crops has come under severe criticism. The percentage of EU citizens concerned about the presence of GMOs in the environment has decreased from 30% (in 2002) to 19% (in 2011), while the level of concern about the use of GM ingredients in food or drinks has decreased from 63% (in 2005) to 27% (in 2019). The steadily increasing acceptance of the EU citizens of GMOs in the environment and food, as it was recorded by Eurobarometers, should additionally ease the way and support a positive change of the legal framework that regulates the GM crops’ testing and commercial cultivation in the EU.

Herbal products are marketed and used around the globe for their claimed or expected health benefits, but their increasing demand has resulted in a proportionally increase of their accidental contamination or intentional adulteration, as already confirmed with DNA-based methods. Microscopy is a traditional pharmacopoeial method used for plant identification and we systematically searched for peer-reviewed publications to document its potential and limitations to authenticate herbal medicines and food supplements commercially available on the global market. The overall authenticity of 508 microscopically authenticated herbal products, sold in 13 countries, was 59%, while the rest of 41% were found to be adulterated. This problem was extending over all continents. At the national level, there were conspicuous differences, even between neighboring countries. These microscopically authenticated commercial herbal products confirm that different magnifying instruments can be used to authenticate crude or processed herbal products traded in the global marketplace. The reviewed publications report the successful use of different magnifying instruments, single or in combinations with a second one, with or without a chemical or DNA-based technique. Microscopy is therefore a rapid and cost-efficient method, and can cope with mixtures and impurities. However, it has limited applicability for highly processed samples. Microscopic authentication of commercial herbal products will therefore contribute to raise public awareness for the extent of adulteration and the need to safeguard consumer safety against the challenges of globalization.