DNA BARCODING IS THE BEST WAY TO IDENTIFY FAKE MEDICINAL PLANTS

Abstract

Concerns over the safety and authenticity of medicinal plant products have grown
as a result of the global growth in demand for herbal remedies. The legitimacy of both traditional
and modern medicine is weakened by the adulteration and substitution of medicinal plants, which
present major health dangers to consumers. Particularly when plant materials are processed or
powdered, traditional plant identification techniques like morphological and phytochemical
examination are sometimes incorrect. A highly accurate and effective method for verifying the
authenticity of medicinal plants is DNA barcoding, a molecular approach that employs brief,
standardized genetic markers to identify species. This study examines how DNA barcoding
outperforms traditional techniques in identifying fake medical plants and guaranteeing the safety
and quality of the final product.