DNA Barcode for Identifying Folium Artemisiae Argyi from Counterfeits

Abstract

Folium Artemisiae Argyi is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It is commonly used in moxibustion, medicine, etc. However, identifying Artemisia argyi is difficult because this herb exhibits similar morphological characteristics to closely related species and counterfeits. To verify the applicability of DNA barcoding, ITS2 and psbA-trnH were used to identify A. argyi from 15 closely related species and counterfeits. Results indicated that total DNA was easily extracted from all the samples and that both ITS2 and psbA-trnH fragments can be easily amplified. ITS2 was a more ideal barcode than psbA-trnH and ITS2 psbA-trnH to identify A. argyi from closely related species and counterfeits on the basis of sequence character, genetic distance, and tree methods. The sequence length was 225 bp for the 56 ITS2 sequences of A. argyi, and no variable site was detected. For the ITS2 sequences, A. capillaris, A. anomala, A. annua, A. igniaria, A. maximowicziana, A. princeps, Dendranthema vestitum, and D. indicum had single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The intraspecific Kimura 2-Parameter distance was zero, which is lower than the minimum interspecific distance (0.005). A. argyi, the closely related species, and counterfeits, except for Artemisia maximowicziana and Artemisia sieversiana, were separated into pairs of divergent clusters by using the neighbor joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood tree methods. Thus, the ITS2 sequence was an ideal barcode to identify A. argyi from closely related species and counterfeits to ensure the safe use of this plant. Key words Folium Artemisiae Argyi; DNA barcoding; ITS2; psbA-trnHFolium Artemisiae Argyi, the dried leaves of Artemisia argyi Levl. et Van, is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine and is commonly used in moxibustion, medicine, food, or medicinal bath.1-4) A. argyi is widely distributed in Korea, Mongolia, Japan, and the Russia Far East.1,5,6) Folium Artemisiae Argyi was first recorded in "Shi Jing" near 1100 BC and in many clinical and medicine literature, such as "Wu Shi Er Bing Fang," "Ben Cao Gang Mu," and "Jin Gui Yao Lve." 3,7) In traditional Chinese medicine, Folium Artemisiae Argyi was considered to have bitter, pungent, and warm properties and associated with the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians.8) Folium Artemisiae Argyi prevents and cures gynecological, respiratory, and dermatological diseases, such as menstruation-related symptoms, infertility, dysmenorrhea, inflammation, hemostasis, tuberculosis, asthma, and eczema. 9-11)Folium Artemisiae Argyi contains complex ingredients, including essential oil, polysaccharide, flavonoid, tannin, sterols, and triterpenes. [12][13][14][15][16] Unfortunately, identifying A. argyi is difficult because this plant exhibits similar morphological characteristics to closely related species and counterfeits, including congeneric plants Artemisia lavandulifolia, Artemisia anomala, Artemisia princeps, Artemisia indica, Artemisia stolonifera, Dendranthema vestitum, and Dendranthema indicum.1-...

Comparison of the abilities of universal, super, and specific DNA barcodes to discriminate among the original species of Fritillariae cirrhosae bulbus and its adulterants

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Comparative chloroplast genome analysis of Artemisia (Asteraceae) in East Asia: insights into evolutionary divergence and phylogenomic implications

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Determination of Mineral Elements in Nanyang Mugwort (<i>Artemisia argyi</i>) Leaves Harvested from Different Crops by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry

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