Development and application of a visualization method for identification of Panax species with LAMP and a DNAzyme

Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolium are two valuable Chinese herbal medicines that should not be mixed because they differ in drug properties and efficacy. The traditional identification method is easily affected by subjective factors and cannot effectively distinguish between ginseng products. This study aimed to develop a new chemical analysis method to visually identify P. ginseng and P. quinquefolium. In this method, a large number of sequences containing G-quadruplex were generated by loop-mediated isothermal amplification, and the combination of G-quadruplex and hemin was used to form deoxyribozyme, which catalyzed the color change of H₂O₂. Artificial simulation of adulteration experiments revealed that this method could detect more than 20% adulterated P. quinquefolium. Compared with the traditional identification methods, this technology was simpler and more efficient, providing a reference for developing rapid visual identification methods and reagents for P. ginseng and P. quinquefolium.