Current State and Prospects of DNA Barcoding and DNA Fingerprinting in the Analysis of the Quality of Plant Raw Materials and Plant-Derived Drugs

Abstract

Abstract—This paper reviews the use of molecular genetic methods (DNA barcoding and DNA fingerprinting) for the authentication of plant raw materials and herbal medicinal products. ITS2 is shown to be the most effective DNA barcode for plants. This marker allows researchers to identify even highly degraded DNA, which is especially important in the case of herbal preparations and biologically active additives. The main problem of traditional DNA barcoding via Sanger sequencing is that it is impossible to read a barcode without preliminary cloning of an amplificate when a plant mix includes a large amount of various adulterants and excipients of plant origin, since species-specific chromatograms are superimposed on each other. Thus, NGS sequencing of ITS2 amplicons is a preferable method for the DNA barcoding of plant materials. This method can be used to analyze highly degraded DNA in multicomponent plant mixes and can be used to identify all their ingredients. The review also covers such DNA fingerprinting techniques as RFLP, RFLP-PCR, RAPD, RAPD-SCAR, AFLP-PCR, and ISSR.