Preprint / Version 1

Three-tiered authentication of herbal traditional Chinese medicine ingredients used in women’s health provides progressive qualitative and quantitative insight

Authors

  • Felicitas Mück Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • Francesca Scotti Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • Quentin Mauvisseau Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • Birgitte Thorbek Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • Helle Wangensteen Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • Hugo Boer Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Keywords:

chemical fingerprinting, DNA barcoding, endometriosis, pharmacovigilance, Traditional Chinese Medicine, women’s healthcare

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal products are increasingly used in Europe, but prevalent authentication methods have significant gaps in detection. In this study, three authentication methods were tested in a tiered approach to improve accuracy on a collection of 51 TCM plant ingredients obtained on the European market. We show the relative performance of conventional barcoding, metabarcoding and standardized chromatographic profiling for TCM ingredients used in one of the most diagnosed disease patterns in women, endometriosis. DNA barcoding using marker ITS2 and chromatographic profiling are methods of choice reported by regulatory authorities and relevant national pharmacopeias. HPTLC was shown to be a valuable authentication tool, combined with metabarcoding, which gives an increased resolution on species diversity, despite dealing with highly processed herbal ingredients. Conventional DNA barcoding as a recommended method was shown to be an insufficient tool for authentication of these samples, while DNA metabarcoding yields an insight into biological contaminants. We conclude that a tiered identification strategy can provide progressive qualitative and quantitative insight in an integrative approach for quality control of processed herbal ingredients. Keywords: chemical fingerprinting, DNA barcoding, endometriosis, pharmacovigilance, Traditional Chinese Medicine, women’s healthcare

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