People
Leon, Christine J.
| Job Title | Medical botanist |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell |
| Section | Sustainable Uses |
| Science Teams |
United Kingdom Large-Scale Syntheses |
| Joined Kew | 1997 |
| Foreign Language(s) | basic French and Mandarin. |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Univ. Exeter, 1977
MSc, Univ. Salford, 1978.
Visiting Professor, Institute of Medicinal Plants Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Science
Committee on Herbal and Complementary Medicine, British Pharmacopoeia
Council, European Society for Ethnopharmacology
China Plant Specialist Group & Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, IUCN-SSC
Ethnic Medicines Forum (Medicinal Products & Healthcare Regulatory Authority, MHRA, UK Dept Health
Co-ordinator of China Desk (Kew)
Medicinal Plants Sustainability Forum (2001-2002)
Traditional Medicines Evaluation Committee (2002-2004).
Role
Manage Centre for Economic Botany’s UK team; research authentication of Chinese medicinal plants for safety, conservation and sustainable use.
Main activity is to provision of a Chinese medicinal plants authentication resource in response to concerns about public safety associated with the use of unregulated Chinese and other traditional herbal medicines. Kew’s Chinese Medicinal Plants Authentication and Conservation Centre (CMPACC) aims: (1) to improve the safety and quality of medicines in the West containing these species and (2) to promote the conservation and sustainable use of the plants involved. The Centre’s work includes species collection in China, their curation at Kew, development of analytical identification methods (mostly chemical) and the provision of an authentication service to a wide audience in the UK and abroad, notably to GOs (health and conservation), hospitals, herbal medicine traders, practitioners, manufacturers, training colleges and researchers. The work involves collaborative advisory work with groups outside Kew, especially the Chinese Academy for Medical Science, the Chinese Academy of Science, the World Health Organisation, academic materia medica experts and taxonomists wordwide, as well as government regulatory agencies in the public health and environmental sectors. The extensive field programme in China involves working with local communities to create herbarium and drug reference specimens of medicinal plants common in international trade. Presentations are given on herbal quality control and conservation at international conferences, mostly in China and, in the UK to government officials from CITES, HM Customs and police units, as well as students in herbal medicine. Activities are dependent upon close inter-departmental collaboration at Kew, such as the verification of herbarium vouchers by Herbarium taxonomists, chemical and molecular work by Jodrell Laboratory staff, and the co-ordination of numerous science delegations from China with staff in Horticulture. Advice is provided to staff in Conventions & Policies section regarding CITES-listed Chinese medicinal species in UK trade. The Centre for Economic Botany’s UK team responsibilities include the management of 4 staff answering economic botany enquiries, Ethnomedica, potpourri enquiries (safety & conservation) and a poisonous plants and fungi identification and toxicology service (the latter managed jointly with Guy’s & St Thomas Hospital Trust, London).
Projects
Authentication and Chemical Fingerprinting of Economically Important Species
CITES: UK Scientific Authority
Diversity of Biologically Active Plants and Plant-Derived Compounds
Medicinal Uses of British Plants
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Kite, G., Howes, M-J., Leon, C. & Simmonds, M.S.J. (2002). Detecting aristolochic acids in herbal remedies by liquid chromatography/serial mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 16: 585-590.
Leon, C., Simmonds, M.S.J., Yu-Lin, L. & Bengang, Z. (2002). Quality control systems for Chinese medicinal plants: can they benefit conservation? In 3rd Int. Conf. Application of New Science & Technology in Biodiversity Conservation & Utilisation: Conservation of Medicinal Plant Diversity & Sustainable Utilisation. Beijing. 315- 323.
Kite, G., Howes, M-J., Leon, C.J. & Simmonds, M. (2003). Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry of malonyl-ginsenosides in the authentication of ginseng. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 17(3): 238-244.
Leon, C.J. (2004). Modern techniques for herbal authentication and their relevance to conservation. 4th National Workshop on Biodiversity Conservation: theme: Chinese Medicinal Plants; 23-25th Feb., Xishuanbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Yunnan, China.
Leon, C.J. & Simmonds, M. (2004). Herbal TCM Authentication and Quality Control. 1st Manchester International Conference on TCM, 11-13 June 2004. Association of TCM, and University of Manchester, UK.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Davis, S.D., Droop, J.M., Gregerson, P., Henson, L., Leon, C.J., et al. (1986). Plants in Danger; what do we know? IUCN, Threatened Plants Unit. 461 pp.
Leon C. J., Dauncey, E. & Rayner, T. (1995). Poisonous Plants in Britain and Ireland; an identification system for medical professionals on CD-ROM. HMSO, London. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & Guy’s & St Thomas Hospital Trust.
Perharic, L., Shaw, D., Leon, C., De Smet, P. & Murray, V. (1995). Possible association of liver damage with the use of Chinese herbal medicine for skin disease. Veterinary & Human Toxicology 37(6): 562-566.
Shaw, D., Leon, C.J., Kolev S. & Murray V. (1997). Traditional Remedies and Food Supplements; a 5-year toxicological study (1991-1995). Drug Safety 17(5): 342-356.
Farah, M.H., Edwards, R., Lindquist, M., Leon, C. & Shaw, D. (2000). International monitoring of adverse health effects associated with herbal medicines. Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety: 9: 105-112