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Author Spotlight: Harnessing DNA Barcode Technology to Enhance the Efficiency of Medicinal Plant Identification
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Binary code, a flexible tool for diagnostic metabolite sequencing of medicinal plants
Qingqing Song1, Jun Li2, Yan Cao1
1Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
Analytica Chimica Acta
|October 19, 2019
Summary
Medicinal plant authentication is enhanced using a novel binary code sequence derived from diagnostic metabolites. This method offers a flexible alternative to DNA barcoding for identifying plant ingredients and traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacognosy
- Analytical Chemistry
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Chromatographic fingerprinting is a key method for authenticating medicinal plants.
- Chemical profiles are crucial for understanding the composition of products like traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
- Current methods for plant authentication and chemical profiling can be improved for accuracy and efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a binary code sequence method for describing the diagnostic metabolome of medicinal plants and TCM prescriptions.
- To demonstrate the utility of this binary code system for plant authentication, chemical characterization, and deformulation of TCM.
- To present binary code sequencing as a potential alternative to DNA barcoding for plant identification.
Main Methods:
- Characterization of 45 medicinal plants and 6 TCM prescriptions to identify diagnostic metabolites.
- Development of a liquid chromatography (LC) method with scheduled multiple reaction monitoring to detect 595 compounds.
- Utilizing Analyst™ software to convert metabolite presence (1) or absence (0) into binary code sequences.
- Building an in-house database of binary sequences for retrieval and analysis.
Main Results:
- A comprehensive chemical pool of 595 diagnostic metabolites was established.
- A robust LC-MS/MS method was successfully developed for detecting all target compounds.
- Binary code sequences were generated for each plant and prescription, forming a searchable database.
- The binary code system demonstrated potential in plant authentication, chemical profiling, and TCM deformulation.
Conclusions:
- Binary code sequencing of diagnostic metabolomes provides a flexible and powerful tool for medicinal plant authentication.
- This approach can serve as a valuable alternative to DNA barcoding, offering detailed chemical insights.
- The method facilitates accurate identification and quality control of medicinal plants and complex herbal products.
Keywords:
Binary code sequenceIngredients of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptionsMedicinal plant authenticationScheduled multiple reaction monitoring“Coding-decoding” workflow
