Application of DNA Barcoding to Identify Medicinal Plants.

Area of Science:

• Botany
• Genetics
• Pharmacognosy

Background:

• Medicinal plants are vital globally but face challenges from adulteration.
• Accurate identification of these plants is crucial for health and disease treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a DNA barcoding protocol for reliable identification of medicinal plants.
• To differentiate genuine medicinal plants from adulterants.

Main Methods:

• DNA extraction using the centrifugal column method.
• Amplification of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region with universal plant primers.
• Sanger sequencing, sequence alignment, and phylogenetic analysis using a neighbor-joining tree.

Main Results:

• Universal primers successfully amplified the target ITS2 region.
• Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) achieved 100% identification accuracy.
• Phylogenetic analysis confirmed sequences clustered with known species (A. sinensis), with 100% clade support.

Conclusions:

• The developed DNA barcoding protocol is effective for identifying medicinal plants.
• This method provides a reliable approach to detect adulterants in herbal products.
• The study offers a reference for quality control in traditional medicine.