Commentary

Patent applications for using DNA technologies to authenticate medicinal herbal material

Pang-Chui Shaw^1,2 , Ka-Lok Wong² , Albert Wai-Kit Chan³ , Wai-Cheong Wong³ and Paul Pui-Hay But^2,4

¹  Department of Biochemistry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, PR China

²  Institute of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, PR China

³  Law Offices of Albert Wai-Kit Chan, PLLC, Whitestone, New York 11357, USA

⁴  Department of Biology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, PR China

author email corresponding author email

Chinese Medicine 2009, 4:21doi:10.1186/1749-8546-4-21

Published:	24 November 2009

Abstract

Herbal medicines are used in many countries for maintaining health and treating diseases. Their efficacy depends on the use of the correct materials, and life-threatening poisoning may occur if toxic adulterants or substitutes are administered instead. Identification of a medicinal material at the DNA level provides an objective and powerful tool for quality control. Extraction of high-quality DNA is the first crucial step in DNA authentication, followed by a battery of DNA techniques including whole genome fingerprinting, DNA sequencing and DNA microarray to establish the identity of the material. New or improved technologies have been developed and valuable data have been collected and compiled for DNA authentication. Some of these technologies and data are patentable. This article provides an overview of some recent patents that cover the extraction of DNA from medicinal materials, the amplification of DNA using improved reaction conditions, the generation of DNA sequences and fingerprints, and the development of high-throughput authentication methods. It also briefly explains why these patents have been granted.