Abstract
Rhizoma Menispermi, derived from the rhizoma of Menispermum dauricum DC., is one of the most popular Chinese medicines. However Rhizoma Menispermi is often illegally mixed with other species in the herbal market, including Aristolochia mollissimae Hance, which is toxic to the kidneys and potentially carcinogenic. The use of DNA barcoding to authenticate herbs has improved the management and safety of traditional medicines. In this paper, 49 samples belonging to five species, including 34 samples of M. dauricum, from different locations and herb markets in China were collected and identified using DNA barcoding. The sequences of all 34 samples of Rhizoma Menispermi are highly consistent, with only one site variation in internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and no variations in the psbA-trnH region. The intra-specific genetic distance is much smaller than inter-specific one. Phylogenetic analysis shows that both sequences allow the successful identification of all species. Nearest distance and BLAST1 methods for the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions indicate 100% identification efficiency. Our research shows that DNA barcoding can effectively distinguish Rhizoma Menispermi from its adulterants from both commercial and original samples, which provides a new and reliable way to monitor commercial herbs and to manage the modern medicine market.
Highlights
Rhizoma Menispermi (Beidougen) is a commonly used traditional Chinese herbal medicine recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia as an analgesic and antipyretic drug
Rhizoma Menispermi is derived from the rhizoma of the plant Menispermum dauricum DC. (Menispermaceae), which is widely distributed in North China
Most of the samples were successfully amplified except the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequence of S. tetrandra, suggesting that amplification of both ITS2 and psbA-trnH was not affected by the degradation of genomic DNA
Summary
Rhizoma Menispermi (Beidougen) is a commonly used traditional Chinese herbal medicine recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia as an analgesic and antipyretic drug. Rhizoma Menispermi is derived from the rhizoma of the plant Menispermum dauricum DC. (Menispermaceae), which is widely distributed in North China. Recent studies have shown that the alkaloids from M. dauricum have various bioactivities, which include anti-arrhythmic and anti-tumor effects [1]. Zhao et al stated that the phenolic alkaloids in the rhizome of M. dauricum could protect against brain ischemia injury [2]. The water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from Rhizoma Menispermi significantly inhibit cell proliferation and DNA synthesis in human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells [3]. Rhizoma Menispermi has become a focus of research because of its newly discovered medicinal properties
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