Trends in the development of discriminating between Angelica L. species using advanced DNA barcoding techniques

Abstract

We reviewed current research trends for discriminating between species of the Angelica genus, a group of important medicinal plants registered in South Korea, China, and Japan. Since the registered species for medicinal purposes differ by country, they are often adulterated as well as mixed in commercial markets. Several DNA technologies have been applied to distinguish between species. However, one of the restrictions is insufficient single-nucleotide pol-ymorphisms (SNPs) within the target DNA fragments; in particular, among closely-related species. Recently, amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR and high-resolution melting (HRM) curve analysis techniques have been developed to solve such a problem. We applied both technologies, and found they were able to discriminate several lines of Angelica genus, including A. gigas Nakai, A. gigas Jiri, A. sinensis , A. acutiloba Kitag, and Levisticum officinale . Furthermore, although the ITS region differs only by one SNP between A. gigas Nakai and A. gigas Jiri, both HRM and ARMS-PCR techniques were powerful enough to discriminate between them. Since both A. gigas Nakai and A. gigas Jiri are native species to South Korea and are very closely related, they are difficult to discriminate by their morphological characteristics. For practical applications of these technologies, further research is necessary with various materials, such as dried or processed materials (jam, jelly, juice, medicinal decoctions, etc.) in commercial markets.