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Development Of A Dna Barcoding Reference Library For Identification Of Medicinal Plant Materials Used In The Rio Grande Valley Of Texas: A Representative Case Study Using Arnica (Asteraceae), Hector G. Aguilar De Alba

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

DNA barcoding is a technique that uses a short DNA fragment to identify a specimen to the species level. This technique is essential in situations where a lack of distinguishing morphological characteristics makes identification impossible. In the Río Grande Valley a variety of herbal supplements are cheap, readily available and sold as “Arnica” with no information to identify the contents. The appearance of dried and shredded material suggests that a variety of plant species are involved, belonging to the family Asteraceae. Arnica montana, also part of Asteraceae, is found in Europe and has anti-inflammatory properties used to externally treat bruises …