- 1ZooPlantLab,
Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of
Milano-Bicocca, P.za Della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
- 2Institute of Applied Biosciences, CERTH, Thermi, Thessaloniki, 570 01, Greece.
- 3Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54 124, Greece.
- 4DISTAV, Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genoa, Italy.
- 5FEM2 Ambiente s.r.l., P.za della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
- 6ZooPlantLab,
Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of
Milano-Bicocca, P.za Della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
massimo.labra@unimib.it.
Abstract
Plant
exposures are among the most frequently reported cases to poison
control centres worldwide. This is a growing condition due to recent
societal trends oriented towards the consumption of wild plants as food,
cosmetics, or medicine. At least three general causes of plant
poisoning can be identified: plant misidentification, introduction of
new plant-based supplements and medicines with no controls about their
safety, and the lack of regulation for the trading of herbal
and phytochemical products. Moreover, an efficient screening for the
occurrence of plants poisonous to humans is also desirable at the
different stages of the food supply chain: from the raw material to the
final transformed product. A rapid diagnosis of intoxication cases is
necessary in order to provide the most reliable treatment. However, a
precise taxonomic characterization of the ingested species is often
challenging. In this review, we provide an overview of the emerging
DNA-based tools and technologies to address the issue of poisonous plant
identification. Specifically, classic DNA barcoding and its
applications using High Resolution Melting (Bar-HRM) ensure high
universality and rapid response respectively, whereas High Throughput
Sequencing techniques (HTS) provide a complete characterization of plant
residues in complex matrices. The pros and cons of each approach have
been evaluated with the final aim of proposing a general user's guide to
molecular identification directed to different stakeholder categories
interested in the diagnostics of poisonous plants.
KEYWORDS:
Alkaloids; DNA barcoding; Food supply chain; Molecular identification; Poison centres; Secondary metabolites
