Phytochemical Analysis of high value botanicals: Exploring Blockchain Technology to Investigate Quality, Sustainability and Safety Along Various Value

高价值植物的植物化学分析：探索区块链技术以研究各种价值的质量、可持续性和安全性

• 批准号: 2318984
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2318984
• 关键词: Phytochemical; Analysis; value; botanicals; Exploring

This project builds upon previous work done on turmeric value-chain that highlight risks associated with poor-quality products, and on a broader scale the resulting implications this has on the ethnobotanical industry. The aim is to contribute towards guaranteeing the sustainable supply, production, manufacturing and distribution of good quality, safe and effective foods and herbal medicines.Ethnobotanical products are increasing in popularity and so too is the demand for better quality, sustainable and effective products. Similarly, blockchain systems whilst still nascent technology are becoming more wide-spread and their application into the value-chains of the food, medicine and natural products industry represents an underexplored and promising area of research and innovation1. Moreover, there is a need for greater regulation, quality control and ecological practices in the ethnobotanical sector2. For example, adulterated or contaminated Turmeric samples that are a potential risk to public health and which can negatively affect consumers' lives have been reported in the literature recently3. Also, the blockchain technology when used alongside portable phytochemistry techniques (NIR & Raman Spectroscopy) offer a unique opportunity to gather insight into the points along the value-chain where quality and sustainability issues arise. It may be that blockchain technology when integrated with analytical techniques that assess quality markers of plants such as Turmeric (e.g. curcuminoids) will result in research that empowers consumers and safeguards the public from potential harms arising from poor-quality herbal products. As well as this it allows for the earlier detection of issues and a dissemination of relevant harm-reduction information along the value-chain. Further, the application of blockchain technology in the context of natural product value-chains is currently limited, this project therefore aims to act as a pilot study establishing proof-of-concepts and the protocols required to conjoin phytochemistry with these emergent technologies (the blockchain) to promote more sustainable industry practices.There are two main phytochemical methods to pilot in this project for the analysis of biochemical markers of quality in the field and also the laboratory. In the case of Turmeric, the plant can be tested in the field using portable tools such as Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscop devices, of which the results can then be further validated and verified with established pharmacopeial methods and tools such as HPLC in the laboratory.The main method for incorporating the phytochemistry data back into the blockchain system is dependent upon internet based wireless tools, such as an IoT device being connected with the analytical equipment e.g. the handheld NIR device (the IoT devices and blockchain technologies are already established by various groups). The combination of these different tools will therefore allow the chemistry data from the plants to be uploaded back into the blockchain via the internet in an efficient way at various steps along the value-chain. The project partner will facilitate access to their field sites especially in India and to the production of the materia prima. They will facilitate both the local contacts and access to samples. As part of the PhD Pukka will provide the student an opportunity to work at Pukka for three months to fully understand the quality and supply chain processes as part of our sustainable business model. The student will gain experience of working within a certified B Corporation and global ethical business by being a fully integrated member of the Quality Team. Their offices at Keynsham near Bristol house the majority of the Pukka staff including finance, commercial and herbal research, quality and development, and the student will have inductions with teams across the business.

该项目建立在以前对姜黄价值链所做的工作的基础上，这些工作强调了与劣质产品相关的风险，以及在更广泛的范围内，这对民族植物学产业产生的影响。其目的是保证优质、安全和有效的食品和草药的可持续供应、生产、制造和销售。民族植物产品越来越受欢迎，对更高质量、可持续和有效产品的需求也越来越大。同样，区块链系统虽然仍然是新兴技术，但正在变得越来越广泛，它们在食品、医药和天然产品行业价值链中的应用代表了一个尚未探索和有前途的研究和创新领域。此外，还需要在民族植物学领域加强监管、质量控制和生态实践2。例如，掺假或污染的姜黄样品对公众健康构成潜在风险，并可能对消费者的生活产生负面影响，最近在文献中有报道3。此外，区块链技术与便携式植物化学技术（NIR和拉曼光谱）一起使用时，提供了一个独特的机会，可以深入了解沿着价值链出现质量和可持续性问题的点。当区块链技术与评估姜黄等植物质量标志物（如姜黄素）的分析技术相结合时，可能会导致研究授权消费者并保护公众免受劣质草药产品的潜在危害。除此之外，它还可以更早地发现问题，并沿着价值链传播相关的减少危害信息。此外，区块链技术在天然产品价值链背景下的应用目前有限，因此，该项目旨在作为一项试点研究，建立概念验证和将植物化学与这些新兴技术结合起来所需的协议（区块链）以促进更可持续的工业实践。在本项目中，有两种主要的植物化学方法用于分析生物化学标志物，现场和实验室的质量。在姜黄的情况下，可以使用近红外光谱和拉曼光谱设备等便携式工具在现场对植物进行测试，然后可以在实验室中使用已建立的药典方法和工具（如HPLC）对结果进行进一步验证和验证。将植物化学数据整合回区块链系统的主要方法依赖于基于互联网的无线工具，例如与分析设备连接的物联网设备，例如手持式NIR设备（物联网设备和区块链技术已经由各个团体建立）。因此，这些不同工具的组合将允许工厂的化学数据通过互联网以有效的方式在价值链的各个步骤沿着上传回区块链。该项目合作伙伴将为进入其现场（特别是在印度）和生产原始材料提供便利。他们将为当地接触和获取样本提供便利。作为博士Pukka的一部分，学生将有机会在Pukka工作三个月，以充分了解质量和供应链流程，作为我们可持续商业模式的一部分。学生将获得认证的B公司和全球道德企业的工作经验，是质量团队的一个完全集成的成员。他们在布里斯托附近的凯恩舍姆的办公室容纳了普卡的大多数员工，包括财务、商业和草药研究、质量和开发，学生将与整个企业的团队一起上岗。