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Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products

Ephedra plants generally contain ephedrine alkaloids, which are the critical precursor compounds of methamphetamine (METH). METH could cause serious physical and mental damage, and therefore Ephedra materials are strictly in supervision internationally. However, unlawful utilization of Ephedra herbs...

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Autores principales: Wang, Gang, Bai, Xuanjiao, Chen, Xiaochen, Ren, Ying, Han, Jianping
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9000813/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35408741
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072342
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author Wang, Gang
Bai, Xuanjiao
Chen, Xiaochen
Ren, Ying
Han, Jianping
author_facet Wang, Gang
Bai, Xuanjiao
Chen, Xiaochen
Ren, Ying
Han, Jianping
author_sort Wang, Gang
collection PubMed
description Ephedra plants generally contain ephedrine alkaloids, which are the critical precursor compounds of methamphetamine (METH). METH could cause serious physical and mental damage, and therefore Ephedra materials are strictly in supervision internationally. However, unlawful utilization of Ephedra herbs and its products still exist. Thus, it is imperative to establish a universal method for monitoring Ephedra ingredients in complex mixtures and processed products. In this study, 224 ITS2 sequences representing 59 taxa within Ephedra were collected, and a 23-bp genus-level nucleotide signature (GTCCGGTCCGCCTCGGCGGTGCG) was developed for the identification of the whole genus. The specific primers MH-1F/1R were designed, and 125 individuals of twelve Ephedra species/varieties were gathered for applicability verification of the nucleotide signature. Additionally, seven batches of Chinese patent medicines containing Ephedra herbs were used to test the application of the nucleotide signature in complex and highly processed materials. The results demonstrated that the 23-bp molecular marker was unique to Ephedra and conserved within the genus. It can be successfully utilized for the detection of Ephedra components in complex preparations and processed products with severe DNA degradation. The method developed in this study could undoubtedly serve as a strong support for the supervision of illegal circulation of Ephedra-containing products.
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spelling pubmed-90008132022-04-12 Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products Wang, Gang Bai, Xuanjiao Chen, Xiaochen Ren, Ying Han, Jianping Molecules Article Ephedra plants generally contain ephedrine alkaloids, which are the critical precursor compounds of methamphetamine (METH). METH could cause serious physical and mental damage, and therefore Ephedra materials are strictly in supervision internationally. However, unlawful utilization of Ephedra herbs and its products still exist. Thus, it is imperative to establish a universal method for monitoring Ephedra ingredients in complex mixtures and processed products. In this study, 224 ITS2 sequences representing 59 taxa within Ephedra were collected, and a 23-bp genus-level nucleotide signature (GTCCGGTCCGCCTCGGCGGTGCG) was developed for the identification of the whole genus. The specific primers MH-1F/1R were designed, and 125 individuals of twelve Ephedra species/varieties were gathered for applicability verification of the nucleotide signature. Additionally, seven batches of Chinese patent medicines containing Ephedra herbs were used to test the application of the nucleotide signature in complex and highly processed materials. The results demonstrated that the 23-bp molecular marker was unique to Ephedra and conserved within the genus. It can be successfully utilized for the detection of Ephedra components in complex preparations and processed products with severe DNA degradation. The method developed in this study could undoubtedly serve as a strong support for the supervision of illegal circulation of Ephedra-containing products. MDPI 2022-04-06 /pmc/articles/PMC9000813/ /pubmed/35408741 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072342 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Wang, Gang
Bai, Xuanjiao
Chen, Xiaochen
Ren, Ying
Han, Jianping
Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title_full Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title_fullStr Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title_full_unstemmed Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title_short Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of Ephedra-Containing Products
title_sort development of a genus-universal nucleotide signature for the identification and supervision of ephedra-containing products
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9000813/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35408741
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules27072342
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