Genetic and chemical markers for authentication of three Artemisia species: A. capillaris, A. gmelinii, and A. fukudo

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 10;17(3):e0264576. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264576. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The genus Artemisia is an important source of medicines in both traditional and modern pharmaceutics, particularly in East Asia. Despite the great benefits of herbal medicine, quality assessment methods for these medicinal herbs are lacking. The young leaves from Artemisia species are generally used, and most of the species have similar morphology, which often leads to adulteration and misuse. This study assembled five complete chloroplast genomes of three Artemisia species, two accessions of A. gmelinii and A. capillaris, and one A. fukudo. Through comparative analysis, we revealed genomic variations and phylogenetic relationships between these species and developed seven InDel-based barcode markers which discriminated the tested species from each other. Additionally, we analyzed specialized metabolites from the species using LC-MS and suggested chemical markers for the identification and authentication of these herbs. We expect that this integrated and complementary authentication method would aid in reducing the misuse of Artemisia species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Artemisia* / genetics
  • Genome, Chloroplast*
  • Phylogeny
  • Phytotherapy
  • Plants, Medicinal* / genetics

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development of the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea (PJ013238) and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Republic of Korea (15172MFDS246). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.