摘要：Scutellaria baicalensis G EORGI (Lamiaceae) is the botanical origin of the well-known traditional Chinese medicine “ Huang Qin ” ( Radix Scutellariae ). Due to overexploitation that had induced a decline in natural sources, the dried roots of its congeners, S. amoena , S. rehderiana , and S. viscidula , have been used to adulterate it in recent years. This practice may cause a series of inconsistent therapeutic effects and quality control problems in the herbal medicine industry. Hence, we sequenced and analyzed three candidate DNA barcodes, the ribosomal RNA maturase gene ( mat K), the ribulose-1,4-bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit gene ( rbc L), and the psb A– trn H intergenic spacer ( psb A– trn H), to discriminate S. baicalensis and its adulterants. All candidate DNA barcodes had been successfully amplified from leaf samples. Comparatively, only psb A– trn H had been yielded from commercially prepared crude drug samples. Based on the sequence divergence, rbc L can assign S. baicalensis and its adulterants into the correct family and genus, whereas, either mat K or psb A– trn H can accurately discriminate S. baicalensis and its adulterants. We proposed the multilocus barcodes rbc L+ psb A– trn H for the species identification of S. baicalensis and its adulterants, and the unique barcode psb A– trn H for the authentication of commercial Radix Scutellariae . The DNA barcoding technique could be applied to the quality control of “ Huang Qin ”-based medicinal preparations and to the management of medicinal herb trade in the markets.
