Abstract

The term ‘geoherbalism’ is extensively used for both academic and commercial purposes. To examine the recent application of this term to a frequently used herbal medicine, 231 samples of genuine scutellariae radix, Scutellaria baicalensis, were collected from 13 populations, covering almost the entire distribution range. In addition, we sampled its two succedanea, that is, 39 samples from two populations of Scutellaria rehderiana and 45 samples from two populations of Scutellaria viscidula and a control (Scutellaria regeliana). The genetic differences among the samples in the three rapidly evolving chloroplast DNA regions (matK, psbK-psbI and trnL-trnF) were analyzed. All three of the medicinal species showed very low genetic diversity when compared to the control, possibly because of the long harvesting history. Based on the markers used, S. baicalensis was distinguishable from S. rehderiana but not from S. viscidula. The geoherbalic populations in Rehe were indistinguishable from the other populations. We conclude that the concept of geoherbalism should be restricted to its historical usage in referring to the genuine medicinal species rather than the geographical regions within the genuine species as proposed by some advocates.

Key words: Chloroplast DNA, genetic diversity, geoherbalism, scutellariae radix,Scutellaria.