Abstract
Sarsaparilla is a popular natural health product (NHP) that has been reported to be one of the most adulterated botanicals in the marketplace. Several plausible explanations are documented including economically motivated product substitution, unintentional errors due to ambiguous trade name associated with several different taxa, and wild harvesting of incorrect non-commercial plants. Unfortunately, this includes the case of an adulterant species Decalepis hamiltonii, a Red listed medicinal plant species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and declared as a species with high conservation concern by the National Biodiversity Authority of India (NBA). This study provides validated genomic (genome skimming & DNA probes) and metabolomic (NMR chemical fingerprints) biotechnology solutions to prevent adulteration on both raw materials and finished products. This is also the first use of Oxford Nanopore on herbal products enabling the use of genome skimming as a tool for quality assurance within the supply chain of botanical ingredients. The validation of both genomics and metabolomics approach provided quality assurance perspective for both product identity and purity. This research enables manufactures and retailers to verify their supply chain is authentic and that consumers can enjoy safe, healthy products.
Highlights
Sarsaparilla is a common name that encompasses several species that belong to different genera
It was noticed that Smilax spp. in North America are adulterated with root like rhizomes of eastern bracken fern, Pteridium aquilinum, which grows in similar habitats
We demonstrated for the first time that the oxford Nanopore can be used for quality assurance of authentic ingredients in the natural health products industry
Summary
Sarsaparilla is a common name that encompasses several species that belong to different genera. The added benefit of NMR is that it provides a metabolite profile that can be used for identity of closely related species not differentiated by genetic markers This provides a quick screen for unknown adulterants, overcoming the very difficult task of developing a DNA-based test assay for some extract ingredients used in food and natural health products. The development of hydrolytic probe-based assays will enable qPCR assays on portable devices, which can provide quick and accurate response within the supply chain verification This goal of this study is to provide a validated genomic (DNA barcoding, genome skimming & DNA probes) and metabolomic (NMR chemical fingerprints) biotechnology solutions to prevent adulteration on both raw materials and finished Sarsaparilla products. The validation of both genomics and metabolomics approaches provided quality assurance perspective for both product identity and purity
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