Alternatively, we showed that the limitation of HPTLC to detect non-targeted species 47 can be overcome through the complementary use of DNA metabarcoding. Using 48 DNA metabarcoding, Echinacea species were detected in 34 out of the 38 retained 49 products (89 %), but with a lack of discriminatory resolution at the species level due 50 to the low level of molecular divergence within the Echinacea genus. All herbal 51 products showed considerable discrepancies between ingredients listed on the label 52 and the ones detected using DNA metabarcoding registering an overall ingredient 53 fidelity of 43 %. 54 55 Conclusion 56The results confirm that DNA metabarcoding can be used to test for the presence of 57Echinacea and simultaneously to detect other species present in even highly 58 processed and multi-ingredient herbal products. 59 60 61
The PhytoAuthent project was structured to gather, test, develop and apply, in real life case scenarios, molecular techniques, such as biochemical fingerprinting and DNA sequencebased methods, for plant identification of constituents in complex herbal products. The project had a strong focus on applied aspects like protecting consumers from health risks associated with product substitution and contamination of herbal products.
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