Abstract
Bulbus Fritillariae is the most commonly used antitussive herb in China. Eleven species of Fritillaria are recorded as Bulbus Fritillariae in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae is a group of six Fritillaria species with higher efficiency and lower toxicity derived mainly from wild sources. Because of their higher market price, five other Fritillaria species are often sold deceptively as Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae in the herbal market. To ensure the efficacy and safety of medicinal herbs, the authentication of botanical resources is the first step in quality control. Here, a DNA based identification method was developed to authenticate the commercial sources of Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae. A putative DNA marker (0.65 kb) specific for Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae was identified using the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. A DNA marker representing a Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) was developed from a RAPD amplicon. The SCAR marker was successfully applied to differentiate Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae from different species of Fritillaria. Additionally, the SCAR marker was also useful in identifying the commercial samples of Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae. Our results indicated that the RAPD-SCAR method was rapid, accurate and applicable in identifying Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae at the DNA level.
Highlights
The bulbs of several Fritillaria species (Lilliaceae), named “Bei-mu” in Chinese, have been used inChina as antitussive, antiasthmatic and expectorant herbs for more than 2,000 years [1,2]
There are eleven species of Fritillaria recorded as the drug Bulbus Fritillariae in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia [3], which are divided into five groups: (1) Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae (Chuanbeimu); (2) Bulbus
It was successfully applied to identifying commercial samples of dried bulbs, which was analyzed by PCR-RFLP method for verification
Summary
The bulbs of several Fritillaria species (Lilliaceae), named “Bei-mu” in Chinese, have been used in. Antiasthmatic and expectorant herbs for more than 2,000 years [1,2]. There are eleven species of Fritillaria recorded as the drug Bulbus Fritillariae in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia [3], which are divided into five groups: (1) Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae (Chuanbeimu); (2) Bulbus. Fritillariae Pallidiflorae (Yibeimu); (3) Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii (Zhebeimu); (4) Bulbus. Fritillariae Hupehensis (Hubeibeimu); and (5) Bulbus Fritillariae Ussuriensis (Pingbeimu). Among these five groups, Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae is considered to be the top-grade herb for use as an antitussive and expectorant drug. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae is the dried bulb of Fritillaria cirrhosa D.
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