Molecular Identification Based on Chloroplast Sequences and Anti-complementary Activity Comparison of Juniperus Samples from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

(Cupressaceae, Pinales) plants are widely distributed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China. The leaves and twigs of at least 8 species ( var var. and var. ) have been used as the Tibetan medicine . At present, it is difficult to distinguish among the original species of based only on their similar morphological characteristics. However, in our previous studies, 4 samples from different species exhibited significant differences in both anticomplementary activity and anti-inflammatory effects on acute lung injury To identify the effective original species of reliably, in this study, we developed a sequencing-based DNA molecular technology to distinguish 14 populations of 8 species collected from Tibet region, using trnS-G, trnD - T, and petN-psbM genomic regions to build phylogenetic trees. In addition, their anticomplementary activities were evaluated. The results showed that combined sequence of these 3 genomic regions could identify 8 species clearly and clustered individuals of one species but from different locations, whichever phylogenetic tree was constructed. Moreover, the anticomplementary activities of the 8 species were clustered into 2 groups. Among them, and var. , which formed an independent branch apart from the other 6 species in phylogenetic trees, were the most potent (CH: 0.029 - 0.032 mg/mL). Consequently, DNA identification of using the combined sequence could provide beneficial guidance for further efficacy evaluation and quality control of .