Authentication of the oriental medicinal plant Ligusticum tenuissimum (Nakai) Kitagawa (Korean Go-Bon) by multiplex PCR.

The oriental medicinal plant Ligusticum tenuissimum (Korean name, Go-Bon) is widely used in Korea and China. L. tenuissimum (Go-Bon) has been employed in the treatment of headache and common cold, and as a fever remedy. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced from thirty-four Go-Bon samples collected from botanical gardens and markets in Korea and China to identify and authenticate L. tenuissimum. Based on the ITS sequences, the thirty-four Go-Bon samples were classified into three groups: L. tenuissimum (Korean Go-Bon), L. jeholense (Chinese Go-Bon), and unknown Chinese Ligusticum species. Three specific primers were designed to identify the three groups of Ligusticum species using multiplex PCR. The established multiplex-PCR was proved to be effective for the differentiation of L. tenuissimum in commercial plant materials.