Advances in Research of Identification of Cnidii Fructus and Its Adulterants

In this paper,the traditional identification and modern identification technology of Cnidii Fructus and its adulterant were reviewed,and their advantages,disadvantages and practicability were summarized,to provide a reference for the rapid and accurate identification and quality evaluation of Cnidii Fructus.

Molecular Identification of Chinese Materia Medica and Its Adulterants Using ITS2 and <i>psbA-trnH</i>Barcodes: A Case Study on Rhizoma Menispermi

Rhizoma Menispermi, derived from the rhizoma of Menispermum dauricum DC., is one of the most popular Chinese medicines. However Rhizoma Menispermi is often illegally mixed with other species in the herbal market, including Aristolochia mollissimae Hance, which is toxic to the kidneys and potentially carcinogenic. The use of DNA barcoding to authenticate herbs has improved the management and safety of traditional medicines. In this paper, 49 samples belonging to five species, including 34 samples of M. dauricum, from different locations and herb markets in China were collected and identified using DNA barcoding. The sequences of all 34 samples of Rhizoma Menispermi are highly consistent, with only one site variation in internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and no variations in the psbA-trnH region. The intra-specific genetic distance is much smaller than inter-specific one. Phylogenetic analysis shows that both sequences allow the successful identification of all species. Nearest distance and BLAST1 methods for the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions indicate 100% identification efficiency. Our research shows that DNA barcoding can effectively distinguish Rhizoma Menispermi from its adulterants from both commercial and original samples, which provides a new and reliable way to monitor commercial herbs and to manage the modern medicine market.

A Pharmacognostical Study on Ardisia gigantifolia and Its Adulterants

[Objectives]The research aimed to study the characteristics of Ardisia gigantifolia and its adulterants Embelia scandens and Mappianthus iodoides for identification. [Methods] Through the trait identification method,powder microscopic identification method,TLC,inclusions detection and content determination,A. gigantifolia and its adulterants were contrasted. [Results]The morphological and histological characteristics of A. gigantifolia,E. scandens and M. iodoides were different from each other. Containing water,total ash,acid insoluble ash and other inclusions also had difference; the total triterpenoid saponins were respectively 122. 90 mg/g of A. gigantifolia,147. 052 mg/g of E. scandens,and 63. 06 mg/g of M. iodoides. [Conclusions] These methods are accurate and reliable,which could be used for the identification of A. gigantifolia and its adulterants.

Quantification of the adulteration concentration of palm kernel oil in virgin coconut oil using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging

The adulteration concentration of palm kernel oil(PKO)in virgin coconut oil(VCO)was quantified using near-infrared(NIR)hyperspectral imaging.Nowadays,some VCO is adulterated with lower-priced PKO to reduce production costs,which diminishes the quality of the VCO.This study used NIR hyperspectral imaging in the wavelength region 900-1,650 nm to create a quantitative model for the detection of PKO contaminants(0-100%)in VCO and to develop predictive mapping.The prediction equation for the adulteration of VCO with PKO was constructed using the partial least squares regression method.The best predictive model was pre-processed using the standard normal variate method,and the coefficient of determination of prediction was 0.991,the root mean square error of prediction was 2.93%,and the residual prediction deviation was 10.37.The results showed that this model could be applied for quantifying the adulteration concentration of PKO in VCO.The prediction adulteration concentration mapping of VCO with PKO was created from a calibration model that showed the color level according to the adulteration concentration in the range of 0-100%.NIR hyperspectral imaging could be clearly used to quantify the adulteration of VCO with a color level map that provides a quick,accurate,and non-destructive detection method.

DNA barcoding provides distinction between Radix Astragali and its adulterants

Based on variable nuclear and/or organellar DNA sequences among vastly divergent species as well as morphologically indistinguishable species, DNA barcoding is widely applicable in species identification, biodiversity studies, forensic analyses, and authentication of medicinal plants. The roots of Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongholica are commonly used as Radix Astragali in several Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Korea. However, in addition to the two species recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, there are twenty-three species from different genera including Astragalus, Oxytropis, Hedysarum, and Glycyrrhiza, which have been used as adulterants not only in trading markets but also by the herbal medicine industry. Therefore, a simple, reliable, and accurate classification method is important for distinguishing authentic Radix Astragali from its adulterants. In this study, we acquired data for 37 samples from four related genera within the family Fabaceae. Then we compared four candidate DNA barcoding markers using ITS, matK, rbcL, and coxI sequences from nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial genomes, all commonly used for plants to identify genetic variations among genera, intraspecies, and interspecies. We observed higher divergences among genera and interspecies for ITS, which have the average Kimura 2-parameter distances of 4.5% and 14.1%, respectively, whereas matK was found to have sufficient divergence at the intraspecific level. Moreover, two indels detected in the matK sequence are useful for PCR studies in distinguishing Radix Astragali from its adulterants. This study suggests that the combined barcoding regions of ITS and matK are superior barcodes for Radix Astragali and further studies should focus on evaluating the applicability and accuracy of such combined markers for a wide range of traditional Chinese herbs.

Drug adulteration analysis based on complexation with cyclodextrin and metal ions using ion mobility spectrometry

Drug adulteration and contamination are serious threats to human health therefore,their accurate monitoring is very important.Allopurinol(Alp)and theophylline(Thp)are commonly used drugs for the treatment of gout and bronchitis,while their isomers hypoxanthine(Hyt)and theobromine(Thm)have no effect and affect the efficacy of the drug.In this work,the drug isomers of Alp/Hyt and Thp/Thm are simply mixed withα-,β-,γ-cyclodextrin(CD)and metal ions and separated using trapped ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry(TIMS-MS).TIMS-MS results showed that Alp/Hyt and Thp/Thm isomers could interact with CD and metal ions and form corresponding binary or ternary complexes to achieve their TIMS separation.Different metal ions and CDs showed different separation effect for the isomers,among which Alp and Hyt could be successfully distinguished from the complexes of[Alp/Hyt+γ-CD+Cu–H]^(+)with separation resolution(RP–P)of 1.51;whereas Thp and Thm could be baseline separated by[Thp/Thm+γ-CD+Ca–H]^(+)with RP–P of 1.96.Besides,chemical calculations revealed that the complexes were in the inclusion forms,and microscopic interactions were somewhat different,making their mobility separation.Moreover,relative and absolute quantification was investigated with an internal standard to determine the precise isomers content,and good linearity(R^(2)>0.99)was obtained.Finally,the method was applied for the adulteration detection where different drugs and urine were analyzed.In addition,due to the advantages of fast speed,simple operation,high sensitivity,and no chromatographic separation required,the proposed method provides an effective strategy for the drug adulteration detection of isomers.

Validation of the Methods for Detection the Non-Milk Fat in a Mixture of Milk Fat and Palm Oil

Milk fat contains a variety of nutritive and health-promoting compounds that guard against some disease. In the current system of global competition, when the quality of milk and milk products is not an option but rather a requirement, therefore, determining the purity of milk fat is critical. This study aims to validate analytical methods for detecting palm oil in a mixture of milk fat and palm oil. Methods of this study was involved detection of non-milk fat in fat blinders by determining the saponification value, iodine number, refractive index, butyro refractometer reading, Gas chromatography, Reverse Phase High-performance liquid chromatography, and Fourier transforms Infrared. The results of this study revealed that the saponification value, Iodine number, refractive index, and Butyro Reading could be used to detect the addition of palm oil by a level of 10% - 20% or more to the milk. The level of some fatty acids in the milk as determined by GC, such as myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), and stearic acid (C18:0), is correlated well with the level of adding palm oil to milk fat. The determination of cholesterol and β-sito-sterol content by RP-HPLC could be used for the detection of the addition of palm oil to milk fat. The spectrum behavior produced by FTIR spectroscopy in this adulterated sample is almost the same, so this technique could not be used to detect the palm oil in milk fat.

Study on Authentication technology of Notoginseng

Notoginseng has the effect of dispersing blood stasis, relieving swelling and pain. It is mainly used for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. At present, because of the wide application of Notoginseng, the market demands a great deal, leading to the emergence of a lot of fake products in the market as authentic Notoginseng, or adulterated in the powder of Notoginseng, which is a great potential harm to consumers. Therefore, the identification of Notoginseng becomes particularly important. Nowadays, scholars have developed a variety of methods for the identification of Notoginseng, including character identification, microscopic identification, physical and chemical identification, protein marker identification and molecular identification. This paper summarizes the research progress of the identification technology of Notoginseng and provides theoretical basis and method basis for the supervision of market of Notoginseng.

Identification of the varietal origin of processed loose-leaf tea based on analysis of a single leaf by SNP nanofluidic array

Tea is an important cash crop, representing a $40 billion-a-year global market. Differentiation of the tea market has resulted in increasing demand for tea products that are sustainably and responsibly produced. Tea authentication is important because of growing concerns about fraud involving premium tea products. Analytical technologies are needed for protection and value enhancement of high-quality brands. For loose-leaf teas, the challenge is that the authentication needs to be established on the basis of a single leaf, so that the products can be traced back to the original varieties. A new generation of molecular markers offers an ideal solution for authentication of processed agricultural products. Using a nanofluidic array to identify variant SNP sequences, we tested genetic identities using DNA extracted from single leaves of 14 processed commercial tea products. Based on the profiles of 60 SNP markers, the genetic identity of each tea sample was unambiguously identified by multilocus matching and ordination analysis. Results for repeated samples of multiple tea leaves from the same products(using three independent DNA extractions) showed 100% concordance, showing that the nanofluidic system is a reliable platform for generating tea DNA fingerprints with high accuracy. The method worked well on green, oolong, and black teas, and can handle a large number of samples in a short period of time. It is robust and cost-effective, thus showing high potential for practical application in the value chain of the tea industry.

Effect of Sodium Tri Polyphosphate (STPP) and Foreign Materials on the Quality of Giant Freshwater Prawn (<i>Macrobrachium rosenbergii</i>) under Ice Storage Condition

There are reports on the use of chemicals like sodium tri polyphosphate (STPP) and foreign materials like pearl tapioca (locally called ‘sagu’), jelly (litchi) to adulterate freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) prior to freeze processing to increase their weight. Studies were, therefore, undertaken to determine the changes in product quality on the use of different concentrations of STPP, sagu and litchi under ice storage condition. Percent weight gain of prawn was 5.46, 18.87 and 23.50 when dipped in 2%, 4% and 6% STPP solution, respectively. In all cases maximum water uptake by prawn muscle was during the first 6 h with fastest weight gain with STPP solutions containing tap water compared to those of ice and tap water. Organoleptic quality of the STPP treated samples became brown and spongy after 8 h of dipping treatment under iced condition. Quality assessment studies conducted after injecting sagu and litchi in prawn muscle showed little or no difference with those of control samples during the first 6 h, which turned whitish and swollen with severe drip loss after 24 h of ice stored condition, indicating characteristics for easy identification of the injected shrimps by organoleptic method.

Identification of sea snake meat adulteration in meat products using PCR-RFLP of mitochondrial DNA

PCR-RFLP based technique for identification of sea snakes in Thai waters was achieved by developing species-specific markers.To distinguish between sea snake species,the PCR products of cytochrome b(Cyt b),12S and 16S rRNA were sequenced and cut with different restriction endonuclease,Alu I and Hinf I.Each enzyme generated different-sized fragments which specific to Cyt b of eight sea snake species.However,the identical pattern was found among Hydrophis group.This result could be resolved by using these enzymes 12S rRNA digestion.This technique was successfully applied to blood,shed skin,raw meat,cooked meat,sea snake-fish binary admixture,and sea snake-pork binary admixture.Hence,it could be applied for identification when sea snake meat adulteration in meat products and sold as meatballs to reduce production costs.Hopefully,this technique would improve sea snake species identification when morphological examination is no longer possible because the animals are already processed.This is very important to track when sea snake species are being hunted and also used to assess the conservation and management of the sea snakes in Thai waters,especially the Gulf of Thailand.

Rapid analysis of dyed safflowers by color objectification and pattern recognition methods

Objective:Rapid discrimination of three classes of safflowers,dyed safflower,adulterated safflower,and pure safflower using computer vision and image processing algorithms.Methods:A low cost computer vision system(CVS)was designed to measure the color of safflowers in the RGB(red,green,blue),L^*a^*b^*,and HSV(hue,saturation,vale)color spaces.The color moments in these three color spaces were extracted from the acquired images as color features of safflower.In addition,five kinds of pigments that are commonly used to dye safflowers were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography as a reference.Pattern recognition methods were investigated for rapid discrimination,including an unsupervised principal component analysis(PCA)algorithm and a supervised partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA)algorithm.Results:The mean error(e)between color values measured with the colorimeter and calculated with the CVS was 2.4%,with a high correlation coefficient(r)of 0.9905.This result indicated that the established CVS was reliable for color estimation of safflowers.The PLS-DA model,which had a total accuracy of 91.89%,outperformed the PCA model in classifying pure,adulterated,and dyed safflowers.Conclusion:The color objectification is a promising tool for rapid identification of dyed and adulterated safflowers.

Feasibility Study for Applying Spectral Imaging for Wheat Grain Authenticity Testing in Pasta

Authentication of pasta is currently determined using molecular biology-based techniques focusing on DNA as the target analyte. Whilst proven to be effective, these approaches can be criticised as being destructive, time consuming, and requiring specialist instrument training. Advances in the field of multispectral imaging (MSI) and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) have facilitated the development of compact imaging platforms with the capability to rapidly differentiate a range of materials (inclusive of grains and seeds) based on surface colour, texture and chemical composition. This preliminary investigation evaluated the applicability of spectral imaging for identification and quantitation of durum wheat grain samples in relation to pasta authenticity. MSI and HSI were capable of rapidly distinguishing between durum wheat and adulterant common wheat cultivars and assigning percentage adulteration levels characterised by low biases and good repeatability estimates. The results demonstrated the potential for spectral imaging based seed/grain adulteration testing to augment existing standard molecular approaches for food authenticity testing.

Identifying camellia oil adulteration with selected vegetable oils by characteristic near-infrared spectral regions

In this paper,a methodology based on characteristic spectral bands of near infrared spectroscopy(1000-2500 nm)and multivariate analysis was proposed to identify camellia oil adulteration withvegetable oils,Sunflower,peanut and corn oils were selected to conduct the test.Pure camlia oiland that adulterated with varying concentrations(1-10%with the gradient of 1%,10-40%withthe gradient of 5%,40-100%with the gradient of 10%)of each type of the three vegetable oilswere prepared,respectively.For each type of adulterated oil,full-spectrum partial least squarespartial least squares(PLS)models and synergy interval partial least squares(SI-PLS)modelswere developed.Parameters of these models were optimized simultaneously by cross-validation,The SI-PLS models were proved to be better than the full-spectrum PLS models.In SI-PLSmodels,the correlation coefficients of predition set(Rp)were 0.9992,0.9998 and 0.9999 foradulteration with sunflower oil,peanut oiloil seperately;the corresponding root meansquare errors of prediction set(RMSEP).66nd 0.37.Furthermore,a new genericPLS model was built based on the chalselected from the intervals of thethree SI-PLS models to identify the oil adulterantsardless of the adultrated oil types.Themodel achieved with Rp=0.9988 and RMSEP==1.52,These results indicated that the charac-teristic near infrared spectral regions could determine the level of adulteration in the camllia oil.

Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Discriminant Analysis Applied to Identification of Soy Sauce Adulteration

The identification of soy sauce adulteration can avoid fraud, and protect the rights and interests of producers and consumers. Based on two measurement models (1 mm, 10 mm), the visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy combined with standard normal variate-partial least squares-discriminant analysis (SNV-PLS-DA) was used to establish the discriminant analysis models for adulterated and brewed soy sauces. Chubang soy sauce was selected as an identification brand (negative, 70). The adulteration samples (positive, 72) were prepared by mixing Chubang soy sauce and blended soy sauce with different adulteration rates. Among them, the “blended soy sauce” sample was concocted of salt water (NaCl), monosodium glutamate (C5H10NNaO5) and caramel color (C6H8O3). The rigorous calibration-prediction-validation sample design was adopted. For the case of 1 mm, five waveband models (visible, short-NIR, long-NIR, whole NIR and whole scanning regions) were established respectively;in the case of 10 mm, three waveband models (visible, short-NIR and visible-short-NIR regions) for unsaturated absorption were also established respectively. In independent validation, the models of all wavebands in the cases of 1 mm and 10 mm have achieved good discrimination effects. For the case of 1 mm, the visible model achieved the optimal validation effect, the validation recognition-accuracy rate (RARV) was 99.6%;while in the case of 10 mm, both the visible and visible-short-NIR models achieved the optimal validation effect (RARV = 100%). The detection method does not require reagents and is fast and simple, which is easy to promote the application. The results can provide valuable reference for designing small dedicated spectrometers with different measurement modals and different spectral regions.

Study of Calcium and Sodium Behavior to Identify Milk Adulteration Using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A fast and direct method for determination of milk adulteration by monitoring of calcium and sodium concentrations variations was described. Milk samples were furnished by a dairy company located at S?o Carlos (S?o Paulo State, Brazil) and and spiked with tap-water, whey, hydrogen peroxide, synthetic urine, urea and synthetic milk in the ranged from 5% to 50% (v/v), expect for caustic soda. Caustic soda was added in the milk until establish the original pH. The milk samples were analyzed by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and no acid digestion process was required. Results showed a significant decrease in the Na and Ca concentrations with addition of synthetic milk and tap-water, a nonlinear variation with addition of synthetic urine, whey and hydrogen peroxide and a largest increase in the Na concentration with addition of NaOH. Correlation between Na and Ca concentrations in pure and adulterated milk were evaluated by paired t-test at a 95% confidence level. Results showed that the method proposed is efficient to identify samples adulterated with tap-water, caustic soda, synthetics milk and urine.

Preparation of Polystyrene Doped with Ytrium Ethoxide and Study on Their Coordination

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Elements, Structure and Electrochemical Property of Carbon Derived from La^(3+) Adulterating Polystyrene Cation Exchange Resin

The polystyrene cation exchange resin was exchanged by La 3+ and then were carbonized to make resin carbon material. The electrochemical properties of the resin carbon material as the electrode of the lithium ion cell were investigated. The test results show that comparing with the polystyrene cation exchange resin without adulterating, the contents of hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur are changed obviously for the resin carbon material derived from the La 3+ adulterating polystyrene cation exchange resin. The contents of hydrogen and oxygen are increased, and the one of sulfur is decreased. The test results also indicate that it is more easily to form the stratum graphite minicrystal structure with bigger diameter for the La 3+ adulterating resin. According to the electrochemical test results, the electrode derived from La 3+ adulterating polystyrene cation exchange resin has much better electrochemical property, and the capacity of charge and discharge of the electrode is increased about 30 mAh·g -1 in average.

Ethnobotanical and phytopharmacological review of Scindapsus officinalis(“Gajapippali”)

Scindapsus of ficinalis(S. officinalis) holds a reputed position in Ayurvedic system of medicine. It has been ethanobotanically used to treat diarrhea("atisara"), worm infestation("krmiroga"), and as antipyretic. Literature survey on S. officinalis was carried out via electronic search in Pub Med, Sci Finder, Scirus, Google Scholar, Agricola and Web of Science and a library search. Results revealed that a very specific botanical description of the plant is still not available. The plant is mistaken within the hybrids and other plants of genus Scindapsus and family Araceae. Since ethnobotanically the plant is of much importance, chemistry of the plant yet needs to be fully explored. Thus the need of the hour is to comprehend the fragmented information available on the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of S. officinalis which could help in the correct identification of the sample and avoid adulteration due to mistaken identity.

Determination of Adulteration Dye Auramine O in Gegen Qinlian Tablets by HPLC-MS/MS

[Objectives]This study aimed to establish a method for determination of adulteration dye auramine O in Gegen Qinlian tablets by HPLC-MS/MS.[Methods]The instrument conditions were as follows:column,Agilent Eclipse plus C18(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.8μm);mobile phase,acetonitrile-0.01 mol/L ammonium acetate;gradient elution;flow rate,0.3 mL/min;column temperature,35℃;injection volume,2μL;ion source,electrospray ionization source(ESI);and scanning mode,multiple reaction monitoring(MRM).[Results]Methodological validation shows that auramine O had a good linear relationship in the range of 0.0934-1.869 pg(r=0.9999),and the average recovery rate was 94.38%(RSD=3.60%,n=9).[Conclusions]The method established is accurate,convenient,precise,reproducible,and stable,with good linear relationship,and it can be used determine the content of adulteration dye auramine O in Gegen Qinlian tablets.