title: Forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS) for the authentication of Chinese medicinal materials.
abstract: Chinese medicinal materials may be authenticated by molecular identification. As a definitive approach to molecular identification of medicinal materials, forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS) comprises four steps, namely (1) DNA extraction from biological samples, (2) selection and amplification of a specific DNA fragment, (3) determination of the sequence of the amplified DNA fragment and (4) cladistic analysis of the sample DNA sequence against a DNA database. Success of the FINS identification depends on the selection of DNA region and reference species. This article describes the techniques and applications of FINS for authenticating Chinese medicinal materials.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China (CUHK), Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. pcshaw@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kalin Yan-Bo
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Paul Pui-Hay
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: But
authors.forename: Pang-Chui
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Shaw