Identification of Dendrobium Species Used for Herbal Medicines Based on Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequence

Tomoko Takamiya; Pheravut Wongsawad; Natsuko Tajima; Nao Shioda; Jun Feng Lu; Chi Luan Wen; Jin Bin Wu; Takashi Handa; Hiroshi Iijima; Susumu Kitanaka; Tomohisa Yukawa

doi:10.1248/bpb.34.779

Notes

Identification of Dendrobium Species Used for Herbal Medicines Based on Ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequence

Tomoko Takamiya, Pheravut Wongsawad, Natsuko Tajima, Nao Shioda, Jun Feng Lu, Chi Luan Wen, Jin Bin Wu, Takashi Handa, Hiroshi Iijima, Susumu Kitanaka, Tomohisa Yukawa

Author information

Tomoko Takamiya
School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Pheravut Wongsawad
Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba
Natsuko Tajima
Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba
Nao Shioda
School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Jun Feng Lu
School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Chi Luan Wen
Graduate Institute of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences, China Medical University
Jin Bin Wu
Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, China Medical University
Takashi Handa
School of Agriculture, Meiji University
Hiroshi Iijima
School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Susumu Kitanaka
School of Pharmacy, Nihon University
Tomohisa Yukawa
Tsukuba Botanical Garden, National Museum of Nature and Science

Keywords: Dendrobium, Orchidaceae, molecular identification, ribosomal DNA, internal transcribed spacer, herbal medicine

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2011 Volume 34 Issue 5 Pages 779-782

DOI https://doi.org/10.1248/bpb.34.779

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Abstract

Stems of genus Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) have been traditionally used as an herbal medicine (Dendrobii Herba) in Eastern Asia. Although demand for Dendrobium is increasing rapidly, wild resources are decreasing due to over-collection. This study aimed to identify plant sources of Dendrobii Herba on the market based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. We constructed an ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequence database of 196 Dendrobium species, and the database was employed to identify 21 herbal samples. We found that 13 Dendrobium species (D. catenatum, D. cucullatum, D. denudans, D. devonianum, D. eriiflorum, D. hancockii, D. linawianum, D. lituiflorum, D. loddigesii, D. polyanthum, D. primulinum, D. regium, and D. transparens) were possibly used as plant sources of Dendrobii Herba, and unidentified species allied to D. denudans, D. eriiflorum, D. gregulus, or D. hemimelanoglossum were also used as sources. Furthermore, it is clear that D. catenatum is one of the most important sources of Dendrobii Herba (5 out of 21 samples).

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