Metabarcoding technology is a research method derived from the combination of traditional DNA barcodes and highthroughput sequencing technologies. It can quickly,easily and efficiently identify and restore biological samples from multiple species.Biological species are currently widely used in environmental biology research. In the market of traditional Chinese medicines,adulteration and quality instability have severely restricted the sustainable development of the related industries. This article introduced the background of the metabarcoding technology and its preliminary application in the identification of Chinese patent medicines. It also outlined the possible problems in the research process and prospected to the development of the DNA metabarcoding technology.
Keywords: Chinese patent medicine; DNA metabarcoding; molecular identification; species.