Identification of Tibetan medicinal plants of Meconopsis Vig. using ITS and psbA-trnH sequence / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To identify the common Tibetan traditional medicine of Meconopsis Vig. using nuclear gene internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and chloroplast psbA-trnH sequence. Methods: Ethnopharmacological study was carried out, three species of Ou-Bei (M. torquata, M. punicea, and M. integrifolia) and two species of Cai-Wen (M. racemosa and M. horridula) were collected. The ribosomal DNA ITS and chloroplast psbA-trnH noncoding region sequences were determined and analyzed. Results: The ITS sequences of M. racemosa and M. horridula were completely the same, while variable site could be detected in each pairwise comparison of ITS sequences in other species; The psbA-trnH sequence analysis showed that the variable sites could be detected in each pairwise comparison of the sequences. The combination of them could be used to identify all the five species. Conclusion: The combination of ITS and psbA-trnH sequence could be used to identify the Tibetan traditional medicine Ou-Bei and Cai-Wen in Meconopsis Vig.