Table 1.
Microscopy-based authentication of commercial herbal products.
| Country/Continent | Products/authenticated species | Reference material used & vouchers deposited (Y/N) | Products (no.) | Magnifying instrument | Other techniques used | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Authentic | Adulterated | ||||||
| China | Traditional herbal tea “Ku-Ding-Cha” from markets & manufacturers (intact or fragmented dried leaves or powders)/Ilex kudingcha C.J.Tseng, I. latifolia Thunb., Ligustrum robustum (Roxb.) Blum, Clerodendrum fortunatum L., Ehretia acuminata R.Br. | plant samples (Y) | 19 | 19 | 0 | light microscope, polarized light microscope | n/a | (Tam et al., 2006) |
| China | Radix Polygoni Multiflori (Heshouwu)/dried root tuber of Reynoutria multiflora (Thunb.) Moldenke | n/a | 12 | 12 | 0 | light microscope | TLC, HPLC | (Zhang et al., 2005) |
| China | traditional “Xihuangcao” herbal tea bags from retail stores/Isodon lophanthoides (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) H.Hara, I. lophanthoides var. graciliflorus (Benth.) H.Hara, I. serra (Maxim.) Kudô | collected reference plant baches (Y) | 8 | 0 | 8 | light microscope | UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS | (Wan et al., 2016) |
| China | Menispermi Rhizoma from a drug store/dried rhizome of Menispermum dauricum DC. | n/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | light microscope | UPLC-DAD-MS | (Liu et al., 2013) |
| Egypt | slimming herbal tea products/Cichorium intybus L., Urtica dioica L., Origanum majorana L., Senna alexandrina Mill. leaves, Glycyrrhiza glabra L. roots, Apium graveolens L. fruits, Calendula officinalis L. flowers, Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Cichorium intybus L. | standard herbal tea mixtures prepared from collected herbs (N) | 2 | 2 | 0 | light microscope | HPLC, LC-MS-MS, GC-MS | (Abdel Kawy et al., 2012) |
| Hong Kong | Cordyceps sinensis purchased fermented samples and supplements (capsules)/C. sinensis, C. hawkesii, C. liangshanensis, C. militaris | collected samples (Y) | 15 | 4 | 11 | light microscope, polarized light microscope | n/a | (Au et al., 2012) |
| Hong Kong | traditional crude drug “Wuzhimaotao” (Radix Fici Hirtae) (primarily dried roots of Ficus hirta Vahl)/F. hirta Vahl, F. simplicissima Lour., F. esquiroliana H.Lév | plants (Y) | 5 | 3 | 2 | light microscope | n/a | (Au et al., 2009) |
| India | Ayurvedic crude drug “Daruharidra” (roots of Berberis aristata DC.) from drug markets/B. aristata DC., B. asiatica Roxb. ex DC., B. chitria Buch.-Ham. ex Lindl., B. lyceum Royle | plants (N) | 10 | 0 | 10 | light microscope | HPTLC | (Srivastava and Rawat, 2013) |
| Iran | crude raw material of herbal drugs/27 cases of herbal drugs | n/a | 78 | 30 | 48 | dissecting microscope | n/a | (Joharchi and Amiri, 2012) |
| Thailand | white “KwaoKrua” products from local markets/Pueraria candollei Benth. | plant leaves (Y) | 7 | 7 | 0 | light microscope | ARMS-PCR, HPLC | (Intharuksa et al., 2020) |
| Thailand | strains of Thai medicinal fungus Cordyceps militaris collected from different commercial farms/C. militaris | n/a | 7 | 7 | 0 | light microscope, scanning electron microscope | DNA barcoding | (Nopparat et al., 2018) |
| Asia | 164 | 84 | 80 | |||||
| Germany | “Goji” products (dried fruits)/Lycium barbarum L., L. chinense Mill., L. ruthenicum Murray fruits, L. europaeum L., L. chilense Bertero, L. ameghinoi Speg. | whole plants (Y), fruits, DNA (Y) | 19 | 19 | 0 | stereo microscope, light microscope | DNA barcoding, ARMS-PCR | (Wetters et al., 2018) |
| Germany | three bamboo teas and five fruit teas containing bamboo leaves/bamboo (Bambusoideae), lemongrass (Cymbopogon) | plants (Y) | 8 | 4 | 4 | stereo microscope, light microscope | DNA barcoding | (Horn and Häser, 2016) |
| Germany | commercial tea mixtures containing ‘Lemon Myrtle’/Backhousia citriodora F.Muell., Leptospermum petersonii F.M.Bailey | plants (Y) | 4 | 4 | 0 | stereo microscope, light microscope | RAPD | (Horn et al., 2012) |
| Germany | Holy Basil ‘Tulsi’ mixtures (mixture teas, cut leaf fragments)/Ocimum tenuiflorum L., O. basilicum L., O. serratum (Schltr.) A.J.Paton, O. gratissimum L. | plants (Y) | 4 | 0 | 4 | stereo microscope, light microscope | DNA barcoding | (Jürges et al., 2009) |
| Germany | tea mixtures/Dracocephalum moldavica L. | plants (Y) | 3 | 3 | 0 | stereo microscope, light microscope | ARMS-PCR, RFLP | (Horn et al., 2014) |
| Greece | powdered Ginkgo leaf food supplement purchased in local community pharmacy/G. biloba L. | n/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | light microscope | HPLC-UV, LC-MS/MS | (Czigle et al., 2018) |
| Turkey | leaf products from different herbal shops/Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., E. globulus Labill., E. grandis W.Hill | plants (Y) | 10 | 0 | 10 | light microscope | TLC | (Tombul et al., 2012) |
| Europe | 49 | 30 | 19 | |||||
| USA | unprocessed products containing botanicals purchased from retail outlets/Arnica Montana L., Arnica sp., Matricaria chamomilla L., Crataegus sp., Juniperus communis L., Tilia sp., Hypericum perforatum L., Schisandra sp., Scutellaria lateriflora L., Illicium verum Hook.f. | n/a | 86 | 65 | 21 | hand lenses, dissecting microscope | n/a | (Walker and Applequist, 2012) |
| USA | “buchu” commercial raw materials and finished products/Agathosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Pillans, A. crenulata (L.) Pillans, A. serratifolia (Curtis) Spreeth | plants (whole/powder) (Y) | 27 | 10 | 17 | light microscope, scanning electron microscope | HPTLC | (Raman et al., 2015) |
| USA | commercial “yohimbe” raw products/Pausinystalia johimbe (K.Schum.) Pierre ex Beille | plant bark (Y) | 12 | 9 | 3 | light microscope, scanning electron microscope | UPLC-UV-MS | (Raman et al., 2013) |
| USA | Hoodia gordonii (Masson) Sweet ex Decne. capsules/Hoodia sp., Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., Ceropegia dichotoma Haw., Cynanchum sp., Edithcolea grandis N.E.Br., Huernia sp., Orbea sp., Piaranthus globosus A.C. White & B. Sloane, Stapelia sp., Tridentea choanantha (Lavranos & Harry Hall) L.C. Leach | herbarium vouchers, collected plants (Y) | 3 | 2 | 1 | light microscope | PCR | (Joshi et al., 2009) |
| North America | 128 | 86 | 42 | |||||
| Argentina | single ingredient herbal products (mostly fragmented)/various species | n/a | 64 | 44 | 20 | light microscope | n/a | (Cuassolo et al., 2010) |
| Argentina | herbal drugs “canchalagua”/Schkuhria pinnata (Lam.) Kuntze ex Thell., Scoparia montevidensis (Spreng.) R.E. Fr. | herbarium vouchers, collected plants (Y) | 59 | 40 | 19 | stereo microscope, optic microscope | n/a | (Molinelli et al., 2014) |
| Argentina | fine cut (tea bags) and thick cut (fragmented herbs) mixtures/21 different species | n/a | 11 | 7 | 4 | stereo microscope, optic microscope | n/a | (Michetti et al., 2019) |
| Argentina | dietary supplements from local market/Arthrospira sp. | n/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | light microscope, polarized light microscope | FT-IR, TLC, 1D-2D NMR, PLC-MS/MS | (Redko et al., 2018) |
| Brazil | products from drugstores/Smilax goyazana A.DC., S. rufescens Griseb., S. brasiliensis Spreng., S. campestris Griseb., S. cissoids M.Martens & Galeotti, S. fluminensis Steud., S. oblongifolia Pohl ex Griseb., S. polyantha Griseb. | roots, leaves (Y) | 15 | 0 | 15 | light microscope, scanning electron microscope | TLC, DNA barcoding, SSR markers | (Martins et al., 2014) |
| Brazil | herbal drugs “carqueja”/Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. | plants (Y) | 15 | 8 | 7 | magnifying glass, microscope | GC-FID | (De Ferrante et al., 2007) |
| Peru | Hoodia gordonii (Masson) Sweet ex Decne. tablets (white)/Hoodia sp., Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., Ceropegia dichotoma Haw., Cynanchum sp., Edithcolea grandis N.E.Br., Huernia sp., Orbea sp., Piaranthus globosus A.C. White & B. Sloane, Stapelia sp., Tridentea choanantha (Lavranos & Harry Hall) L.C. Leach | herbarium vouchers, collected plants (Y) | 2 | 1 | 1 | light microscope | PCR | (Joshi et al., 2009) |
| South America | 167 | 100 | 67 | |||||
| Total | 508 | 300 | 208 | |||||