Development and application of DNA markers to detect adulteration with Scopolia japonica in the medicinal herb Atractylodes lancea.

Atractylodes lancea rhizomes are commonly consumed in east Asia as traditional medical herbs. However, in Korea, because of their morphological similarity, A. lancea rhizomes can be contaminated with those of Scopolia japonica imported from China. To detect adulteration with S. japonica in the complex products of A. lancea, we developed two PCR-based DNA markers, multiplex PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. The sensitivity of the multiplex PCR primer combinations and real-time PCR was confirmed with a series of DNA concentrations (0.01-10 ng/µL). The specificity of the developed PCR assays was confirmed with 14 other species. In addition, 14 commercial A. lancea medicinal herbs and 20 blind samples were tested with the developed PCR assays to demonstrate the reliability. Taken together, the developed multiplex and real-time PCR-based target-specific primer sets may be useful for detecting the target species and have the potential to contribute to food safety and consumer health care. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-01008-5. © The Korean Society of Food Science and Technology 2021.