Species identification based on trnH-psbA and ITS2 genes and analysis of mineral nutrients of selected medicinal plants from Malaysia

Accurate plant identification and screening of the elements in medicinal plants have become increasingly important. some elements can become toxic when existing at high concentrations. the present study presents a molecular identification method to discriminate plant species and assess the mineral nutrients in four selected medicinal plants widely used in traditional healing practices in malaysia. medicinal plants were sampled from a secondary forest in northern peninsular of malaysia. species discrimination was conducted using phylogenetic inference and blast method on two target genes,trnh-psba and its2 while the concentration levels of the mineral in terms of macro and micro nutrients (ca,fe,mg,mn,zn,cu ) were determined using icp-oes spectroscopy in the leaf samples. the present study revealed that the dna identification method has successfully discriminated all samples to species level and that the trnh-psba is the best marker for identification. the concentration levels of mineral nutrients ranged from 0.01 to 5.76 mg/kg. within the safety range as recommended by the world health organization (who). results of the present study provide important data on the dna barcoding of medicinal plants and assessment of mineral nutrients,which can be useful for providing scientific information on dietary supplements based on authentic medicinal plants and products. © 2017 jordan journal of biological sciences.