A dynamic development of a herbal ontology: enhancing the safe use of medicinal plants

Purpose The global rise of alternative medicine, particularly the use of medicinal plants, offers promising health benefits but also poses significant risks due to limited knowledge, species misidentification and improper preparation or administration. Design/methodology/approach This paper introduces HerbOnto, a Herbal Ontology designed for the dynamic development of medicinal plant knowledge base – meaning it continuously collects, updates and categorizes data through advanced data collection techniques and classification algorithms. Findings HerbOnto aims to reduce risks and enhance safety by providing an evolving, structured and accessible knowledge base that supports the effective and responsible use of medicinal plants worldwide. Originality/value The dynamic and predictive approach to ontology development for medicinal plants, which goes beyond existing static herbal databases or taxonomies.