A pharmacognostic survey of 84 commercial samples of Mediterranean oregano, obtained from wholesale traders between 2001 and 2007, pinpointed the presence of extraneous plant material in 90.5% of the samples. In 59% of them extraneous material of plant origin was above 20%. Two major groups of botanical foreign matter were identified: oregano-like flavored plants ( Satureja montana L., Origanum majorana L.) and plants lacking a clearly detectable essential oil profile ( Rubus sp., Cistus incanus L., Rhus coriaria L.), added as bulk extraneous material. A random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was developed to make the detection of the second group of adulterants easier and speed pharmacognostic analysis of large batches of samples. Thirteen primers discriminating between Origanum spp. and Rubus caesius , R.coriaria, and C. incanus were individuated, allowing their detection in oregano samples with a limit of detection of 1%. The utilization of RAPD as a reliable test to probe the authenticity of Mediterranean oregano or previously screen the presence of specific contaminants is proposed as a complementary approach to pharmacognostic and phytochemical screening.

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A method based on sequence-characterized amplified regions (SCARs) was developed from random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPDs) specific for Arnica montana L., Bixa orellana L., Calendula officinalis L., Carthamus tinctorius L., Crocus vernus L. (Hill), Curcuma longa L., and Hemerocallis sp. to detect these common bulking agents in commercial saffron (Crocus sativus). The method enabled the unequivocal detection of low amounts (up to 1%) of each adulterant, allowing the preemptive rejection of suspect samples. Its enforcement limits the number of samples to be subjected to further evaluation with pharmacognostic or phytochemical analyses, especially when multiple batches have to be evaluated in a short time. The dimension of the amplicons is suitable for the analysis of degraded DNA obtained from dried, stored, processed, and finely ground commercial material. Proper SCAR markers may represent a fast, sensitive, reliable, and low-cost screening method for the authentication of dried commercial saffron material.

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