Identification of crude drugs in the Japanese pharmacopoeia using a DNA barcoding system

Xiaochen Chen,Gang Li,Li Xiang,Hui Yao,Yulin Lin,Linchun Shi,Jianping Han,Jingyuan Song,Shilin Chen

doi:10.1038/srep42325

Abstract

Kampo is the general designation for traditional Japanese herbal medicines, which are recognized as official medicines and listed in the Japanese pharmacopoeia (JP). In most cases, it is difficult to identify the crude drug materials to species level using only traditional identification methods. We report the first online DNA barcode identification system, which includes standard barcode sequences from approximately 95% of the species recorded in the JP (16th edition). This tool provides users with basic information on each crude drug recorded in the JP, DNA barcoding identification of herbal material, and the standard operating procedure (SOP) from sampling to data analysis. ITS2 sequences (psbA-trnH was an alternative when ITS2 could not be amplified) were generated from a total of 576 samples to establish the database. An additional 100 samples (from different medicinal parts, from both single origin and multiple origins and from both retailers and the planting base) were identified using the system. A total of 78% of the test samples were identified as the species listed on their label. This system establishes a model platform for other pharmacopeias from countries like China, Korea, the US and the European Union, for the safe and effective utilization of traditional herbal medicines.

Highlights

Kampo originated from traditional Chinese medicines via Korea and has developed into its own system through thousands of years of clinical practice[1]
The first identification system including standard ITS2 and psbA-trnH experimental sequences and the standard operating procedure (SOP) for DNA barcoding for the identification of crude Kampo drugs
According to our statistical analysis, approximately 66% of the original plants are identical between the Japanese pharmacopoeia (JP) and the Chinese pharmacopoeia (CP)

Summary

Introduction

Kampo originated from traditional Chinese medicines via Korea and has developed into its own system through thousands of years of clinical practice[1]. In 2011, the China Plant BOL Group analyzed the effectiveness and universality of different combinations of DNA barcodes based on a large dataset (6286 individuals representing 1757 species in 141 genera of 75 families) These samples were tested using different methods of data analysis. The successful identification of crude drugs such as Panax[24], Rhodiola products[25], and caterpillar fungus[26] has demonstrated that DNA barcoding can be effectively used as a new authentication method for traditional medicine. This technique will promote the safety and efficiency of clinical applications and market circulation. We established a standardized barcode identification system for crude Kampo materials, and the results indicated that DNA barcoding is an efficient tool for traditional herbal medicine authentication

Methods

Results

Conclusion