Abstract
Authentication of Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius products is important to be able to mitigate instances of adulteration and substitution that exist within the international supply chain of ginseng. To address this issue, species-specific hydrolysis probe qPCR assays were developed and validated for both P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius herbal dietary supplements. Performance of the probe-based assays was evaluated using analytical validation criteria, which included evaluation of: (1) specificity, in selectively identifying the target species; (2) sensitivity, in detecting the lowest amount of the target material; and (3) repeatability and reproducibility of the method in detecting the target species in raw materials on a real-time PCR platform (reliability). The species-specific probes were developed and successfully passed the validation criteria with 100% specificity, 80–120% efficiency and 100% reliability. The methods developed in this study are fit for purpose, rapid, and easy to implement in quality assurance programs; authentication of ginseng herbal supplements is possible, even with extracts where DNA is fragmented and of low quality and quantity.
Highlights
Ginseng is the collective term used to refer to several plant species that belong to the genus, Panax
Because most ginseng products come in powdered form and have similar morphology, it is difficult to identify the source of these products through visual inspection
Nine samples of P. ginseng and ten samples of P. quiquefolius were used as targets for the respective assays, and the remaining 19 samples were used as non-targets for both assays (Table 1)
Summary
Ginseng is the collective term used to refer to several plant species that belong to the genus, Panax. Several genetic methods have been developed and validated for the identification of ginseng species These methods employed species-specific primers using the conventional PCR approach that involved several post-amplification steps such as gel running and sequencing of the amplified product [16,17,18,19]. These methods successfully identified ginseng species, they have the same disadvantages as DNA barcoding. For the first time, hydrolysis probe-based qPCR assays for P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius were developed and validated to test the authenticity of labelled Panax herbal products. Since traditional PCR based approaches cannot be used on-site, this approach has the potential to become a handy technique for the botanical manufacturing industry
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