Stage-Specific Authentication of Chinese Medicinal Plant Materials from a Supply-Chain Perspective
-- Integrating Morphological, Chemical, and DNA Evidence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/5796m894Keywords:
Chinese Medicinal Plant Materials, Authentication, Supply Chain, Integrative EvidenceAbstract
After harvest, Chinese medicinal plant materials pass through collection, primary processing, trade, decoction-piece preparation, and finished-product manufacture. Their visible form changes at each step. So does the evidence used for authentication. A single test is therefore unlikely to cover the whole chain with the same reliability. This review considers authentication from a supply-chain perspective, with particular attention to multiple botanical sources and taxonomic ambiguity. It then compares morphological, microscopic, chemical, spectroscopic, and DNA-based approaches, including newer targeted and high-throughput methods. In general, identity should be fixed as early as possible at the upstream stage. Midstream samples require checks from several types of evidence. Downstream products, by contrast, depend more heavily on chemical profiling and task-oriented DNA tools. A stage-specific framework may better match routine quality control and regulatory decisions than a uniform testing model.
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