DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements
Devil’s claw is the vernacular name for a genus of medicinal plants that occur in the Kalahari Desert and Namibia Steppes. The genus comprises two distinct species: <i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i>. Although the European pharmacopeia considers the species...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2005 |
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| author | Genelle L. Diaz-Silveira Joan Deutsch Damon P. Little |
| author_facet | Genelle L. Diaz-Silveira Joan Deutsch Damon P. Little |
| author_sort | Genelle L. Diaz-Silveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Devil’s claw is the vernacular name for a genus of medicinal plants that occur in the Kalahari Desert and Namibia Steppes. The genus comprises two distinct species: <i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i>. Although the European pharmacopeia considers the species interchangeable, recent studies have demonstrated that <i>H. procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i> are chemically distinct and should not be treated as the same species. Further, the sale of <i>H. zeyheri</i> as an herbal supplement is not legal in the United States. Four markers were tested for their ability to distinguish <i>H. procumbens</i> from <i>H. zeyheri</i>: <i>rbcL</i>, <i>matK</i>, nrITS2, and <i>psbA-trnH</i>. Of these, only <i>psbA-trnH</i> was successful. A novel DNA mini-barcode assay that produces a 178-base amplicon in <i>Harpagophytum</i> (specificity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.80–1.00]; sensitivity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.75–1.00]) was used to estimate mislabeling frequency in a sample of 23 devil’s claw supplements purchased in the United States. PCR amplification failed in 13% of cases. Among the 20 fully-analyzable supplements: <i>H. procumbens</i> was not detected in 75%; 25% contained both <i>H. procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i>; none contained only <i>H. procumbens</i>. We recommend this novel mini-barcode region as a standard method of quality control in the manufacture of devil’s claw supplements. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:16:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-b8304dd8f53541848100c6b70a8559a62023-11-22T19:42:12ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-09-011010200510.3390/plants10102005DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary SupplementsGenelle L. Diaz-Silveira0Joan Deutsch1Damon P. Little2Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126, USALewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126, USALewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126, USADevil’s claw is the vernacular name for a genus of medicinal plants that occur in the Kalahari Desert and Namibia Steppes. The genus comprises two distinct species: <i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i>. Although the European pharmacopeia considers the species interchangeable, recent studies have demonstrated that <i>H. procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i> are chemically distinct and should not be treated as the same species. Further, the sale of <i>H. zeyheri</i> as an herbal supplement is not legal in the United States. Four markers were tested for their ability to distinguish <i>H. procumbens</i> from <i>H. zeyheri</i>: <i>rbcL</i>, <i>matK</i>, nrITS2, and <i>psbA-trnH</i>. Of these, only <i>psbA-trnH</i> was successful. A novel DNA mini-barcode assay that produces a 178-base amplicon in <i>Harpagophytum</i> (specificity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.80–1.00]; sensitivity = 1.00 [95% confidence interval = 0.75–1.00]) was used to estimate mislabeling frequency in a sample of 23 devil’s claw supplements purchased in the United States. PCR amplification failed in 13% of cases. Among the 20 fully-analyzable supplements: <i>H. procumbens</i> was not detected in 75%; 25% contained both <i>H. procumbens</i> and <i>H. zeyheri</i>; none contained only <i>H. procumbens</i>. We recommend this novel mini-barcode region as a standard method of quality control in the manufacture of devil’s claw supplements.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2005<i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i><i>Harpagophytum zeyheri</i>mini-barcodePedaliaceae<i>psbA-trnH</i> |
| spellingShingle | Genelle L. Diaz-Silveira Joan Deutsch Damon P. Little DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements Plants <i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i> <i>Harpagophytum zeyheri</i> mini-barcode Pedaliaceae <i>psbA-trnH</i> |
| title | DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements |
| title_full | DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements |
| title_fullStr | DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements |
| title_full_unstemmed | DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements |
| title_short | DNA Barcode Authentication of Devil’s Claw Herbal Dietary Supplements |
| title_sort | dna barcode authentication of devil s claw herbal dietary supplements |
| topic | <i>Harpagophytum procumbens</i> <i>Harpagophytum zeyheri</i> mini-barcode Pedaliaceae <i>psbA-trnH</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2005 |
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