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Background : In the KHP (the Korea Herbal Pharmacopoeia), the Cuscutae Semen (菟絲子) is defined as the seed of the Cuscuta chinensis Lamark (family: Convolvulaceae). Using authentic raw herbal materials is fundamental to herbal medicine quality and Cuscutae Semen is widely distributed in many asian countries. Due to having tiny bodies of seeds, it is extremely difficult to differentiate them from adulterants and closely related species by morphologic characteristics, leading to serious safety problems. For this reason, there was conducted to develop molecular markers to distinguishing these Cuscuta chinensis with Cuscuta japonica and Cuscuta pentagona by using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Method and Results : In this study we developed a clearly and efficient method to identify Cuscutae Semen on the market. These samples (C. chinensis, C. japonica and C. pentagona) were analyzed from two barcode regions of chloroplast DNA (rbcL, psbA-trnH) and nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS2). Based on genetic distance, the precent of variable sites were provided the highest psbA-trnH value (38.7%), followed by ITS2 (23.4%), rbcL (9.9%), in order to develop a specific primer that can distinguish C. chinensis, C. japonica and C. pentagona.
Conclusion : From the above results, DNA barcoding was proved to be a successful tool for authentication the three species of Cuscutae semen. The adoption of DNA barcoding as an authentication tool by food safety agencies can safeguard the interests of both consumers and traders.
