Analysis and Determination Center, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610066, China.
Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology Research, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610066, China.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 19;10(1):2974. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59900-9.
The Chinese cordyceps, a complex of the fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its species-specific host insects, is also called "DongChongXiaCao" in Chinese. Habitat degradation in recent decades and excessive harvesting by humans has intensified its scarcity and increased the prices of natural populations. Some counterfeits are traded as natural Chinese cordyceps for profit, causing confusion in the marketplace. To promote the safe use of Chinese cordyceps and related products, a duplex PCR method for specifically identifying raw Chinese cordyceps and its primary products was successfully established. Chinese cordyceps could be precisely identified by detecting an internal transcribed spacer amplicon from O. sinensis and a cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 amplicon from the host species, at a limit of detection as low as 32 pg. Eleven commercial samples were purchased and successfully tested to further verify that the developed duplex PCR method could be reliably used to identify Chinese cordyceps. It provides a new simple way to discern true commercial Chinese cordyceps from counterfeits in the marketplace. This is an important step toward achieving an authentication method for this Chinese medicine. The methodology and the developmental strategy can be used to authenticate other traditional Chinese medicinal materials.
中国被毛孢，一种真菌冬虫夏草与其种特异性宿主昆虫的复合体，在中国也被称为“冬虫草”。近几十年来，栖息地的退化和人类的过度采集加剧了其稀缺性，导致天然种群的价格上涨。一些假冒品被作为天然冬虫夏草进行交易以获取利润，这在市场上造成了混乱。为了促进冬虫夏草及其相关产品的安全使用，成功建立了一种用于鉴定生冬虫夏草及其主要产品的双重 PCR 方法。通过检测来自 Ophiocordyceps sinensis 的内部转录间隔区扩增子和来自宿主物种的细胞色素氧化酶 c 亚基 1 扩增子，可以精确鉴定冬虫夏草，检测限低至 32pg。购买了 11 个商业样本并成功进行了测试，进一步验证了所开发的双重 PCR 方法可可靠地用于鉴定冬虫夏草。它为辨别市场上真正的商业冬虫夏草和假冒品提供了一种新的简单方法。这是实现这种中药鉴定方法的重要一步。该方法和开发策略可用于鉴定其他传统中药材料。
