Herbal Supplements
The use of herbal products has always been a thing of pondering for most countries. Some countries have a culture for using traditional, natural products while others fear the risk of adulteration and such issues. For example, there is fear that instead of using plants that are indicated for a supplement, people use cheaper products with similar properties which does not bring out similar results. As a result, analysis using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) helps in making distinctions with true vs illegal biological products used. As a result, a more effective method is applied, which is known as DNA barcoding. This method ensure that genetic markers can differentiate between the types of plants and other products used to manufacture herbal medicines. Since the Sanger method induced a vast array of discrepancies, Next-Generation Sequencing became the sought after technology for application with herbal supplements.
NGS is beneficial since it can sequence DNA with degradation, it is cost efficient, effective, it helps with adequate separation of templates, is sensitive and it saves time. Due to its precision, there is more work being done on this specific technology as scientists work towards specific goals for the future:
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To develop a standardized method for authentication of herbal supplements
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Carefully compare the Sanger Method with NGS
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Identify loopholes in the process in order to improve
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Characterize fungal species and their effects on the test
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To compare current approaches to other technology in order to identify the best available method
In order to gain a reference database, there was a use of five medicinal plant species. Herbarium specimens from the Royal Ontario Museum and other fresh specimens were collected and dropped off at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario in order to gain a reference sequence. The five species picked for testing were Echinacea purpurea, Valeriana officinalis, Ginkgo biloba, Hypericum perforatum and Trigonella foenum-graecum. Since there is a need for variety in the database, the chosen samples were organized so that there would be dried aerial parts, seeds, roots, plant extracts, extracts combined with raw plant material, and so much more.
Citations 6.1 - 6.6
Exploring the Depths of Life
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Sequencing
