Use of the potential DNA barcode ITS2 to identify herbal materials

A potential DNA barcode, ITS2, was studied to discriminate herbal materials to confirm their identities and ensure their safe application in pharmaceuticals. Here, a total of 4385 samples of 2431 species were collected, and these samples are from 61 commonly used herbs and their closely related species or adulterants. Based on assessments of the extent of genetic divergence, the DNA barcoding gap and the ability for species discrimination, our results suggest that ITS2 is a powerful tool for distinguishing herbs. For the first dataset including 61 herbs, ITS2 correctly identified 100% of them. For the second dataset containing 51 herbs and their 2382 closely related species, ITS2 could discriminate correctly 48 herbs from their closely related species. For the third dataset comprising 34 herbs and their 111 adulterants, ITS2 could distinguish successfully all the herbs from their adulterants. In conclusion, the ITS2 region is an efficient marker for the authentication of herbal materials, and our study will accelerate the process of the application of the DNA barcoding technique in differentiating herbs.