Species identification approach for both raw materials and end products of herbal supplements from Tinospora species

Maslin Osathanunkul,Panagiotis Madesis,Rossarin Osathanunkul

doi:10.1186/s12906-018-2174-0

Maslin Osathanunkul, Panagiotis Madesis + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-018-2174-0

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Abstract

BackgroundNowadays herbal products used in traditional medicine are sold in processed forms and thus morphological authentication is almost impossible. With herbal industry rapidly growing size, consumer safety becomes an important issue that requires special attention. Identification of herbal species in the products is therefore needed.MethodsSequences from the selected regions (matK, rbcL, trnL and ITS1) were retrieved and analysed. Then the most suitable barcode was assessed for discrimination of T. crispa from closely related species by HRM analysis and used in authentication of commercial products.ResultsThe ITS1 barcode was found to be the suitable primer as melting data from the HRM assay proved to be capable of distinguishing T. crispa from its related species. The developed protocol was then employed to authenticate medicinal products in powdered form. HRM analysis of all tested samples here revealed that five out of eight products contained not only the indicated species T. crispa but also other Tinospora, that have a high level of morphological similarity.ConclusionMisrepresentation, poor packaging and inappropriate labeling of the tested medicinal herbal products are thought to be the reason of the results here. Using Bar-HRM with the ITS marker lead to success in authenticating the tested herbal products.

Highlights

Nowadays herbal products used in traditional medicine are sold in processed forms and morphological authentication is almost impossible
Aim of this study is to evaluate the Bar-High resolution melting (HRM) technique in identifying both raw herb materials and final products for quality control of herbal medicinal products sold in markets
Plant materials and DNA isolation Dried plant tissues for DNA extraction were kindly provided by Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden (QSBG) from the following herbarium vouchers (T. baenzigeri: QSBG no. 40019, T. cordifolia: QSBG no. 59882 and T. crispa: QSBG no. 11324)

Summary

Introduction

Nowadays herbal products used in traditional medicine are sold in processed forms and morphological authentication is almost impossible. Identification of herbal species in the products is needed. Medicinal plants have played a key role in world health. Medicinal plants are distributed throughout the world, but they are most abundant in tropical countries. In Thailand, people spend an estimated 8,000 billion baht (300 million USD) per year on herbal products that are supposed to cure almost everything, like hot flashes, stomach ache and sore throat among others

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