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Identification of a Herbal Powder by Deoxyribonucleic Acid Barcoding and Structural Analyses.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Authentic identification of plants is essential for exploiting their medicinal properties as well as to stop the adulteration and malpractices with the trade of the same. OBJECTIVE:To identify a herbal powder obtained from a herbalist in the local vicinity of Rajkot, Gujarat, using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding and molecular tools. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The DNA was extracted from a herbal powder and selected Cassia species, followed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of the rbcL barcode locus. Thereafter the sequences were subjected to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) analysis, followed by the protein three-dimension structure determination of the rbcL protein from the herbal powder and Cassia species namely Cassia fistula, Cassia tora and Cassia javanica (sequences obtained in the present study), Cassia Roxburghii, and Cassia abbreviata (sequences retrieved from Genbank). Further, the multiple and pairwise structural alignment were carried out in order to identify the herbal powder. RESULTS:The nucleotide sequences obtained from the selected species of Cassia were submitted to Genbank (Accession No. JX141397, JX141405, JX141420). The NCBI BLAST analysis of the rbcL protein from the herbal powder showed an equal sequence similarity (with reference to different parameters like E value, maximum identity, total score, query coverage) to C. javanica and C. roxburghii. In order to solve the ambiguities of the BLAST result, a protein structural approach was implemented. The protein homology models obtained in the present study were submitted to the protein model database (PM0079748-PM0079753). The pairwise structural alignment of the herbal powder (as template) and C. javanica and C. roxburghii (as targets individually) revealed a close similarity of the herbal powder with C. javanica. CONCLUSION:A strategy as used here, incorporating the integrated use of DNA barcoding and protein structural analyses could be adopted, as a novel rapid and economic procedure, especially in cases when protein coding loci are considered. SUMMARY:Authentic identification of plants is essential for exploiting their medicinal properties as well as to stop the adulteration and malpractices with the trade of the same. A herbal powder was obtained from a herbalist in the local vicinity of Rajkot, Gujarat. An integrated approach using DNA barcoding and structural analyses was carried out to identify the herbal powder. The herbal powder was identified as Cassia javanica L.

SUBMITTER: Sheth BP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4787090 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identification of a Herbal Powder by Deoxyribonucleic Acid Barcoding and Structural Analyses.

Sheth Bhavisha P BP Thaker Vrinda S VS

Pharmacognosy magazine 20151001 Suppl 4

<h4>Background</h4>Authentic identification of plants is essential for exploiting their medicinal properties as well as to stop the adulteration and malpractices with the trade of the same.<h4>Objective</h4>To identify a herbal powder obtained from a herbalist in the local vicinity of Rajkot, Gujarat, using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding and molecular tools.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>The DNA was extracted from a herbal powder and selected Cassia species, followed by the polymerase chai ...[more]

PMID: 27013796

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Herbal products available to consumers in the marketplace may be contaminated or substituted with alternative plant species and fillers that are not listed on the labels. According to the World Health Organization, the adulteration of herbal products is a threat to consumer safety. Our research aimed to investigate herbal product integrity and authenticity with the goal of protecting consumers from health risks associated with product substitution and contamination. METHODS: We used DNA barcoding to conduct a blind test of the authenticity for (i) 44 herbal products representing 12 companies and 30 different species of herbs, and (ii) 50 leaf samples collected from 42 herbal species. Our laboratory also assembled the first standard reference material (SRM) herbal barcode library from 100 herbal species of known provenance that were used to identify the unknown herbal products and leaf samples. RESULTS: We recovered DNA barcodes from most herbal products (91%) and all leaf samples (100%), with 95% species resolution using a tiered approach (rbcL + ITS2). Most (59%) of the products tested contained DNA barcodes from plant species not listed on the labels. Although we were able to authenticate almost half (48%) of the products, one-third of these also contained contaminants and or fillers not listed on the label. Product substitution occurred in 30/44 of the products tested and only 2/12 companies had products without any substitution, contamination or fillers. Some of the contaminants we found pose serious health risks to consumers. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the herbal products tested were of poor quality, including considerable product substitution, contamination and use of fillers. These activities dilute the effectiveness of otherwise useful remedies, lowering the perceived value of all related products because of a lack of consumer confidence in them. We suggest that the herbal industry should embrace DNA barcoding for authenticating herbal products through testing of raw materials used in manufacturing products. The use of an SRM DNA herbal barcode library for testing bulk materials could provide a method for 'best practices? in the manufacturing of herbal products. This would provide consumers with safe, high quality herbal products.

Dataset Information

Identification of a Herbal Powder by Deoxyribonucleic Acid Barcoding and Structural Analyses.

Publications

Identification of a Herbal Powder by Deoxyribonucleic Acid Barcoding and Structural Analyses.

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