DNA barcoding detects floral origin of Indian honey samples.

The unique medicinal and nutritional properties of honey are determined by its chemical composition. To evaluate the quality of honey, it is essential to study the surrounding vegetation where honeybees forage. In this study we used conventional melissopalynological and DNA barcoding techniques to determine the floral source of honey samples collected from different districts of the state of Mizoram, India.

Estimating Herbal Product Authentication and Adulteration in India Using a Vouchered, DNA-Based Biological Reference Material Library.

Introduction: India is considered the 'medicinal garden' of the world, with 8000 medicinal plants of which 960 are commercial species that are traded nationally and globally. Although scientific studies estimate herbal product adulteration as 42-66 % in North America, India does not have any published marketplace studies and subsequent estimates of adulteration in an industry facing considerable supply demands.

Objectives: The goal of this project is to provide an initial assessment of herbal product authentication and adulteration in the marketplace in India by (1) developing a biological reference material (BRM) herbal DNA library for Indian herbal species using DNA barcode regions (ITS2 and rbcL) in order to facilitate accurate species resolution when testing the herbal products; and (2) assessing herbal product identification using our BRM library; and (3) comparing the use of our BRM library to identify herbal products with that of GenBank.