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Harris CM, Kim DY, Jordan CR, Miranda MI, Hellberg RS. DNA barcoding of herbal supplements on the US commercial market associated with the purported treatment of COVID-19. PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS : PCA 2024; 35:664-677. [PMID: 38225696 DOI: 10.1002/pca.3320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increased global use of traditional medicines, including Ayurvedic herbal preparations. Due to their growing demand, their processed nature, and the complexity of the global supply chain, there is an increased risk of adulteration in these products. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to assess the use of DNA barcoding for species identification in herbal supplements on the US market associated with the Ayurvedic treatment of respiratory symptoms. METHODS A total of 54 commercial products containing Ayurvedic herbs were tested with four DNA barcoding regions (i.e., rbcL, matK, ITS2, and mini-ITS2) using two composite samples per product. Nine categories of herbs were targeted: amla, ashwagandha, cinnamon, ginger, guduchi, tribulus, tulsi, turmeric, and vacha. RESULTS At least one species was identified in 64.8% of products and the expected species was detected in 38.9% of products. Undeclared plant species, including other Ayurvedic herbs, rice, and pepper, were detected in 19 products, and fungal species were identified in 12 products. The presence of undeclared plant species may be a result of intentional substitution or contamination during harvest or processing, while fungal DNA was likely associated with the plant material or the growing environment. The greatest sequencing success (42.6-46.3%) was obtained with the matK and rbcL primers. CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that a combination of genetic loci should be used for DNA barcoding of herbal supplements. Due to the limitations of DNA barcoding in identification of these products, future research should incorporate chemical characterization techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calin M Harris
- Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Food Science Program, One University Drive, Orange, California, USA
| | - Diane Y Kim
- Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Food Science Program, One University Drive, Orange, California, USA
| | - Chevon R Jordan
- Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Food Science Program, One University Drive, Orange, California, USA
| | - Miranda I Miranda
- Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Food Science Program, One University Drive, Orange, California, USA
| | - Rosalee S Hellberg
- Chapman University, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Food Science Program, One University Drive, Orange, California, USA
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Mück F, Scotti F, Mauvisseau Q, Thorbek BLG, Wangensteen H, de Boer HJ. Three-tiered authentication of herbal traditional Chinese medicine ingredients used in women's health provides progressive qualitative and quantitative insight. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1353434. [PMID: 38375033 PMCID: PMC10875096 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1353434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal products are increasingly used in Europe, but prevalent authentication methods have significant gaps in detection. In this study, three authentication methods were tested in a tiered approach to improve accuracy on a collection of 51 TCM plant ingredients obtained on the European market. We show the relative performance of conventional barcoding, metabarcoding and standardized chromatographic profiling for TCM ingredients used in one of the most diagnosed disease patterns in women, endometriosis. DNA barcoding using marker ITS2 and chromatographic profiling are methods of choice reported by regulatory authorities and relevant national pharmacopeias. HPTLC was shown to be a valuable authentication tool, combined with metabarcoding, which gives an increased resolution on species diversity, despite dealing with highly processed herbal ingredients. Conventional DNA barcoding as a recommended method was shown to be an insufficient tool for authentication of these samples, while DNA metabarcoding yields an insight into biological contaminants. We conclude that a tiered identification strategy can provide progressive qualitative and quantitative insight in an integrative approach for quality control of processed herbal ingredients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicitas Mück
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesca Scotti
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Helle Wangensteen
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Vlase AM, Toiu A, Gligor O, Muntean D, Casian T, Vlase L, Filip A, Bȃldea I, Clichici S, Decea N, Moldovan R, Toma VA, Virag P, Crișan G. Investigation of Epilobium hirsutum L. Optimized Extract's Anti-Inflammatory and Antitumor Potential. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:198. [PMID: 38256751 PMCID: PMC10819739 DOI: 10.3390/plants13020198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Epilobium hirsutum L., commonly known as hairy willowherb, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to Europe and Asia. In Romania, the Epilobium genus includes 17 species that are used in folk medicine for various purposes. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antitumor potential of the optimized extract of Epilobium hirsutum (EH) in animal models. The first study investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of EH optimized extract and the model used was carrageenan-induced paw inflammation. Wistar rats were divided into three groups: negative control, positive control treated with indomethacin, and a group treated with the extract. Oxidative stress markers, cytokine levels, and protein expressions were assessed. The extract demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties comparable to those of the control group. In the second study, the antitumor effects of the extract were assessed using the tumor model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. Swiss albino mice with Ehrlich ascites were divided into four groups: negative, positive treated with cyclophosphamide (Cph), Group 3 treated with Cph and EH optimized extract, and Group 4 treated with extract alone. Samples from the ascites fluid, liver, and heart were analyzed to evaluate oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer markers. The extract showed a reduction in tumor-associated inflammation and oxidative stress. Overall, the EH optimized extract exhibited promising anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects in the animal models studied. These findings suggest its potential as a natural adjuvant therapeutic agent for addressing inflammation and oxidative stress induced by different pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Maria Vlase
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.-M.V.); (O.G.); (G.C.)
| | - Anca Toiu
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Octavia Gligor
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.-M.V.); (O.G.); (G.C.)
| | - Dana Muntean
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (D.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Tibor Casian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (D.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Laurian Vlase
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (D.M.); (T.C.)
| | - Adriana Filip
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.F.); (S.C.); (N.D.); (R.M.)
| | - Ioana Bȃldea
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.F.); (S.C.); (N.D.); (R.M.)
| | - Simona Clichici
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.F.); (S.C.); (N.D.); (R.M.)
| | - Nicoleta Decea
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.F.); (S.C.); (N.D.); (R.M.)
| | - Remus Moldovan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.F.); (S.C.); (N.D.); (R.M.)
| | - Vlad-Alexandru Toma
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 44 Republicii Street, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
- Institute of Biological Research, Branch of NIRDBS, 48 Republicii Street, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Piroska Virag
- Department of Radiobiology and Tumor Biology, The Oncology Institute “Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuță”, 34-36 Republicii Street, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Gianina Crișan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Victor Babeș Street, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; (A.-M.V.); (O.G.); (G.C.)
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Raclariu-Manolică AC, Socaciu C. In Search of Authenticity Biomarkers in Food Supplements Containing Sea Buckthorn: A Metabolomics Approach. Foods 2023; 12:4493. [PMID: 38137297 PMCID: PMC10742966 DOI: 10.3390/foods12244493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) (SB) is increasingly consumed worldwide as a food and food supplement. The remarkable richness in biologically active phytochemicals (polyphenols, carotenoids, sterols, vitamins) is responsible for its purported nutritional and health-promoting effects. Despite the considerable interest and high market demand for SB-based supplements, a limited number of studies report on the authentication of such commercially available products. Herein, untargeted metabolomics based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-ESI+MS) were able to compare the phytochemical fingerprint of leaves, berries, and various categories of SB-berry herbal supplements (teas, capsules, tablets, liquids). By untargeted metabolomics, a multivariate discrimination analysis and a univariate approach (t-test and ANOVA) showed some putative authentication biomarkers for berries, e.g., xylitol, violaxanthin, tryptophan, quinic acid, quercetin-3-rutinoside. Significant dominant molecules were found for leaves: luteolin-5-glucoside, arginine, isorhamnetin 3-rutinoside, serotonin, and tocopherol. The univariate analysis showed discriminations between the different classes of food supplements using similar algorithms. Finally, eight molecules were selected and considered significant putative authentication biomarkers. Further studies will be focused on quantitative evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ancuța Cristina Raclariu-Manolică
- Stejarul Research Centre for Biological Sciences, National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, 610004 Piatra Neamț, Romania;
| | - Carmen Socaciu
- Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- BIODIATECH—Research Center for Applied Biotechnology in Diagnosis and Molecular Therapy, 400478 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Mück F, Scotti F, Mauvisseau Q, Raclariu-Manolică AC, Schrøder-Nielsen A, Wangensteen H, de Boer HJ. Complementary authentication of Chinese herbal products to treat endometriosis using DNA metabarcoding and HPTLC shows a high level of variability. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1305410. [PMID: 38116075 PMCID: PMC10728824 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1305410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is popular for the treatment of endometriosis, a complex gynecological disease that affects 10% of women globally. The growing market for TCMs has yielded a significant incentive for product adulteration, and although emerging technologies show promise to improve their quality control, many challenges remain. We tested the authenticity of two traditional Chinese herbal formulae used in women's healthcare for the treatment of endometriosis, known as Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (FL) and Ge Xia Zhu Yu Tang (GX). Dual-locus DNA metabarcoding analysis coupled with high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) were used to authenticate 19 FL and six GX commercial herbal products, as well as three ad hoc prepared artificial mixtures. HPTLC was able to detect most of the expected ingredients via comparative component analysis. DNA metabarcoding was able to detect an unexpected species diversity in the products, including 38 unexpected taxa. Chromatography has a resolution for all species indirectly through the identification of marker compounds for the different species ingredients. Metabarcoding on the other hand yields an overview of species diversity in each sample, but interpretation of the results can be challenging. Detected species might not be present in quantities that matter, and without validated quantification, some detected species can be hard to interpret. Comparative analysis of the two analytical approaches also reveals that DNA for species might be absent or too fragmented to amplify as the relevant chemical marker compounds can be detected but no amplicons are assigned to the same species. Our study emphasizes that integrating DNA metabarcoding with phytochemical analysis brings valuable data for the comprehensive authentication of Traditional Chinese Medicines ensuring their quality and safe use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicitas Mück
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Francesca Scotti
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ancuţa Cristina Raclariu-Manolică
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Stejarul Research Centre for Biological Sciences, National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, Piatra Neamț, Romania
| | | | - Helle Wangensteen
- Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Raclariu-Manolică AC, Mauvisseau Q, Paranaiba R, De Boer HJ, Socaciu C. Authentication of milk thistle commercial products using UHPLC-QTOF-ESI + MS metabolomics and DNA metabarcoding. BMC Complement Med Ther 2023; 23:257. [PMID: 37480124 PMCID: PMC10360273 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-023-04091-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Milk thistle is one of the most popular hepatoprotectants, and is often sold in combination with other ingredients. Botanical supplements are known to be vulnerable to contamination and adulteration, and emerging technologies show promise to improve their quality control. METHODS Untargeted and semi-targeted metabolomics based on UHPLC-QTOF-ESI+MS techniques, UV spectrometry, and DNA metabarcoding using Illumina MiSeq were used to authenticate eighteen milk thistle botanical formulations (teas, capsules, tablets, emulsion). RESULTS Untargeted metabolomics separated 217 molecules and by multivariate analysis the discrimination between the different preparations was established. The semi-targeted metabolomics focused on 63 phytochemicals, mainly silymarin flavonolignans and flavonoids, that may be considered as putative biomarkers of authenticity. All formulations contained molecules from silymarin complexes at different levels. The quantitative evaluation of silybins was done using in parallel UV spectrometry and UHPLC-QTOF-ESI+MS and their correlations were compared. DNA metabarcoding detected milk thistle in eleven out of sixteen retained preparations, whereas two others had incomplete evidence of milk thistle despite metabolomics validating specific metabolites, e.g., silymarin complex, identified and quantified in all samples. Meanwhile, the DNA metabarcoding provided insights into the total species composition allowing the interpretation of the results in a broad context. CONCLUSION Our study emphasizes that combining spectroscopic, chromatographic, and genetic techniques bring complementary information to guarantee the quality of the botanical formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ancuța Cristina Raclariu-Manolică
- Stejarul Research Centre for Biological Sciences, National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, Alexandru cel Bun Street, 6, Piatra Neamț, 610004, Romania.
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, Oslo, 0318, Norway.
| | - Quentin Mauvisseau
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Renato Paranaiba
- Natural Products Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, 70910-900, Brazil
- DNA Laboratory, National Institute of Criminalistics, Brazilian Federal Police, SAIS Quadra 7, Lote 23, Brasília, DF, 70610-200, Brazil
| | - Hugo J De Boer
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Carmen Socaciu
- Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Mănăştur Street, nr. 3-5, Cluj Napoca, 400372, Romania
- BIODIATECH- Research Center for Applied Biotechnology in Diagnosis and Molecular Therapy, Trifoiului Street 12G, Cluj-Napoca, 400478, Romania
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