Molecular authentication of the medicinal crop Portulaca oleracea and discrimination from its adulterants in herbal markets using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis

Genetic Authentication of the Medicinal Plant Portulaca oleracea Using a Quick, Precise, and Sensitive Isothermal DNA Amplification Assay

“…The ITS2 DNA sequences of all species used in this study were attained from the GenBank of NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/, accessed on 26 June 2022), as submitted previously [7]. This sequence of selected species was applied for primer design after sequence alignments.…”

“…Presently, the increased demand for PO plants has become prevalent due to wide interest in and acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in countries around the world [4,5]. As a result, the authentication of PO medicinal plants is required to confirm their effectiveness and safety [6,7]. For example, several Portulaca species and Bacopa monnieri (BM) demonstrate similar morphological features between POs [7].…”

“…As a result, the authentication of PO medicinal plants is required to confirm their effectiveness and safety [6,7]. For example, several Portulaca species and Bacopa monnieri (BM) demonstrate similar morphological features between POs [7]. These PO-related herbs are all recognized by the same Chinese name, "Ma-Chi-Xian", in folk herbal medicine in Taiwan [6].…”

“…These PO-related herbs are all recognized by the same Chinese name, "Ma-Chi-Xian", in folk herbal medicine in Taiwan [6]. These herbs have exhibited the possibility of being used as adulterants to distort the identity of PO plants [7]. In particular, BM has been investigated and proven to be the most abundant adulterant: approximately 50-70% is purposely adulterated in the herbal market; thus, BM is also called "fake purslane" [6,7].…”

Identification of Novel Alkaloids from Portulaca oleracea L. and Characterization of Their Pharmacokinetics and GLP-1 Secretion-Promoting Activity in STC-1 Cells

“…Portulaca oleracea L. (purslane) is a green herb widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions where it has been used as both medicine and food. − It has a wide range of pharmacological effects, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antidiabetic. − It is also considered a functional food because it contains many bioactive components such as alkaloids, polysaccharides, flavonoids, fatty acids, and terpenoids. , Among them, alkaloids have been proven to promote insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells and regulate human glucose metabolism, with the overall effect of lowering the blood sugar level . At present, most of the research is focusing on the pharmacological ingredients of the crude extract of purslane alkaloids, since the alkaloids appear to be the main hypoglycemic active components in purslane. − …”