Application of novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for rapid authentication of the herbal tea ingredient Hedyotis diffusa Willd.

Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (Baihuasheshecao) is an ingredient of herbal teas commonly consumed in the Orient and tropical Asia for cancer treatment and health maintenance. In the market, this ingredient is frequently adulterated by the related species Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam. The objective of this study is to develop a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique to differentiate H. diffusa from its adulterant H. corymbosa. A set of four internal control primers (F3, FIP, BIP and B3) were designed based on six loci in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) for LAMP of both H. diffusa and H. corymbosa. Two specific primers (S_F3 and S_FIP) were designed for specific LAMP detection of H. diffusa only. Our data showed that LAMP was successful for both H. diffusa and H. corymbosa in internal control. In contrast, only H. diffusa was detected in specific LAMP using the specific primers S_F3 and S_FIP. This study showed that LAMP was useful to differentiate H. diffusa from its adulterant H. corymbosa. This study is significant for the verification of the authenticity for better quality control of this common herbal tea ingredient. The strategy of including an internal control assures the quality of the concerned DNA region for LAMP.