Chloroplast ycf1-based DNA barcode enables authentication of Chrysanthemum morifolium and C. indicum and detects adulteration in their herbal products

Abstract Chrysanthemum morifolium and C. indicum are globally renowned for their health-promoting properties and are widely used in herbal medicine. Moreover, they have been increasingly used in the food industry, particularly in the herbal tea sector. However, accurately identifying these two herbal medicines at the molecular level remains challenging. In this study, a highly specific and novel DNA barcode, ycf1 , was developed through comparative chloroplast genome analysis. Molecular authentication of 80 commercial herbal tea products revealed the following: (1) The ycf1 DNA barcode distinguished C. morifolium (Cm-Type) from C. indicum (Ci-Types I-III), while also distinguishing their admixtures, demonstrating authentication ability for species authentication. (2) Among 40 C. morifolium herbal tea products, 85% were authentic, whereas the remaining were adulterated with C. indicum . (3) For 40 C. indicum herbal tea products, 62.5% were authentic, whereas the remaining were adulterated with C. morifolium or Artemisia sieversiana . This study establishes the chloroplast ycf1 barcode as a high-resolution molecular tool for authenticating Chrysanthemum species, demonstrating its dual utility in: discrimination of pure and mixed samples, and detection of adulterants in commercial herbal teas. These advancements significantly improve quality control protocols for herbal products and provide a reference basis to strengthen regulatory oversight in the medicine-food homology industry.