Development of a Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Method for Simultaneous Detection of Four Cimicifuga Species

Expensive herbs like oriental medicinal plants are always possible targets for fraudulent labeling or misuse in many countries. In the genus Cimicifuga, most species have been used as "Sheng-Ma" for oriental medicinal purposes. Among the Cimicifuga species, C. heracleifolia Kom., C. dahurica (Turcz. ex Fisch and C.A. Mey.) Maxim., C. foetida L., and C. simplex (DC.) Wormsk. ex Turcz. were used as certified medicinal materials in Korea, China, and Japan. To identify these four Cimicifuga species, the internal transcribed spacer was used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, and nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in the four Cimicifuga species. Four specific primers were designed from their polymorphic sites to identify Cimicifuga species using multiplex PCR. The established multiplex-PCR proved to be effective for the differentiation of Cimicifuga species in commercial materials.