Molecular differentiation of Panax species by RAPD analysis

Traditional taxonomic methods used for the identification and differentiation of ginsengs rely primarily on morphological observations or physiochemical methods, which cannot be used efficiently when only powdered forms or shredded material is available. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to determine the unique DNA profiles that are characteristic not only of the genus Panax but also of various Panax subgroups collected from five different countries. RAPD results of OP-5A primer showed a specific single band that is characteristic of all ginseng samples. RAPD results of OP-13B primer demonstrated that OP-13B primer could be used as a unique RAPD marker to differentiate Panax species. These results support that this approach could be applied to distinguish Korean Ginseng (Panax ginseng) from others at the molecular level.