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Forensic Identification of CITES Protected Slimming Cactus ( Hoodia ) Using DNA Barcoding
Author(s) -
Gathier Gerard,
Niet Timotheus,
Peelen Tamara,
Vugt Rogier R.,
Eurlings Marcel C.M.,
Gravendeel Barbara
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12184
Subject(s) - dna barcoding , cites , dna profiling , traditional medicine , biology , medicine , dna , genetics , zoology , fishery
Slimming cactus ( Hoodia ), found only in southwestern Africa, is a well‐known herbal product for losing weight. Consequently, Hoodia extracts are sought‐after worldwide despite a CITES Appendix II status. The failure to eradicate illegal trade is due to problems with detecting and identifying Hoodia using morphological and chemical characters. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of molecular identification of Hoodia based on DNA barcoding. Screening of nrITS1 and psbA ‐ trnH DNA sequences from 26 accessions of Ceropegieae resulted in successful identification, while conventional chemical profiling using DLI‐MS led to inaccurate detection and identification of Hoodia . The presence of Hoodia in herbal products was also successfully established using DNA sequences. A validation procedure of our DNA barcoding protocol demonstrated its robustness to changes in PCR conditions. We conclude that DNA barcoding is an effective tool for Hoodia detection and identification which can contribute to preventing illegal trade.