AUTHOR=Liu Zhen-wen , Gao Yu-zhen , Zhou Jing 

TITLE=Molecular Authentication of the Medicinal Species of Ligusticum (Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix, “Gao-ben”) by Integrating Non-coding Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) and Its Secondary Structure

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.00429

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2019.00429

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix (LReR), an important Chinese medicine known as ‘Gao-ben’, refers to Ligusticum sinense Oliv. or L. jeholense Nakai et Kitag. However, a number of other species are commonly sold as ‘Gao-ben’ in the herbal medicine market, which may result in a series of quality control problems and inconsistent therapeutic effects. The ‘Gao-ben’ is commonly sold sliced and dried, making traditional identification methods difficult. Here, the mini barcode ITS2 region was examined on 68 samples representing LReR and seven potential adulterant or substitute species. The results showed 100% success rates of PCR and sequencing and the existence of a barcoding gap. The neighbor-joining (NJ) tree indicates that all the tested samples can be exactly identified. The ITS2 secondary structure revealed a clear difference between true ‘Gao-ben’ and three adulterant species. We hence recommend the use of ITS2 as a mini barcode for distinguishing between closely or distantly related plant species that may be used in Chinese medicine.