Discrimination of Dendrobium officinale and Its Common Adulterants by Combination of Normal Light and Fluorescence Microscopy

Abstract

Abstract:The stems of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo, named Tie-pi-shi-hu, is one of the most endangered and precious species in China. Because of its various pharmacodynamic effects, D. officinale is widely recognized as a high-quality health food in China and other countries in south and south-east Asia. With the rising interest of D. officinale, its products have a high price due to a limited supply. This high price has led to the proliferation of adulterants in the market. To ensure the safe use of D. officinale, a fast and convenient method combining normal and fluorescence microscopy was applied in the present study to distinguish D. officinale from three commonly used adulterantsThe result demonstrated that D. officinale could be identified by the characteristic "two hat-shaped" vascular bundle sheath observed under the fluorescence microscopy and the distribution of raphides under normal light microscopy. The other three adulterants could be discriminated by the vascular bundle differences and the distribution of raphides under normal light microscopy. This work indicated that combination of normal light and fluorescence microscopy is a fast and efficient technique to scientifically distinguish D. officinale from the commonly confused species.

Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo: A Review on Its Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Industrialization

“…It is apparent that Dendrobium officinale germplasm resources' separation and purification determine its characters and quality [94]. In terms of microscopic identification, Dendrobium officinale could be identified by vascular bundle sheath observed under the fluorescence microscopy and the distribution of raphides under normal light microscopy [95]. In addition, the taxonomy, phylogeny, and breeding of Dendrobium species have made great progress as the advance of molecular markers in the past two decades [96].…”

Compare the microscopic characteristics of stems of the 24 Dendrobium species utilized in the traditional Chinese medicine “Shihu”

“…Previous studies, however, shed some light on the matter. Chu et al () discriminated D. officinale and its common adulterants by combining normal light and fluorescence microscopy. Their study had demonstrated that the key feature useful for distinguishing D. officinale was “two hat‐shaped” vascular bundle sheath.…”

“…Bao, Pan, and Bai () also reported the difference of vascular bundle numbers of the stem in D. officinale , D. moniliforme , and D. devonianum. Chu et al () reported vascular bundle numbers of the stem in D. officinale , D. devonianum , D. aphyllum , and D. gratiosissimum had differences. The researchers of these previous studies, however, only investigated the middle part of stem.…”

Effect of Dendrobium officinale Extraction on Gastric Carcinogenesis in Rats

“…Chen et al [24] had quantified bibenzyls, phenanthrenes, and flavanones, which are used for plant identification among the Dendrobium species. Chu et al [25] established a fast and simple method by combining normal and fluorescence microscopy to distinguish D. officinale . In our research, we established a method to simultaneously determine the concentrations of schaftoside, isoschaftoside, vicenin 3, and naringenin in D. officinale by HPLC-UV.…”