Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully employed genetic barcoding to tell original drugs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from adulterants. Extracts of Drynaria roosii Nakaike are traditionally used in China for the treatment of bone diseases, but extracts from some closely related plants are without effect. Comparing chloroplast genome sequences of all these plants, 12 protein-coding genes and eight intergenic sequences with high divergence in chloroplast genomes were identified and led to the development of four primer pairs which allow to distinguis D. roosii from adulterants and guarantee for the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the drug.
CAS news release, October 24, 2019