Detection of Botanicals and Adulterants Using the Novel DNA-Based Technology Seq

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): From cosmetics, to supplements and pharmaceuticals- natural products using a wide-array of botanicals play an important role in our health and wellbeing. However, deceitful adulteration poses a great risk to the naturalproducts industry and the safety of its consumers; there are a number of well-known cases involving substitution by toxic species that have led to illness and even death. There are numerous methods commonly used for botanical authentication- from microscopy, to chemistry, and infrared radiation- that vary in their ability to detect and identify adulterants. Although DNA-based technologies have not yet been widely used in industry, there are a number of methods that offer great potential for solving our challenges with adulterant detection, especially of closely related species. In the proposed project, we will develop a new test, Detect IDNATM, specifically designed to affordably and reliably, detect and identify adulterants and contaminants, even in p