Background: Peucedanum praeruptorum L., a traditional Chinese medicine known as Qian-hu, is commonly used for dispelling wind-heat and expectorant and loss of energy. However, due to similar morphological characters and high market demand, there are many substitutes and adulterants of P. praeruptorum. DNA barcoding is an approach to identify species based on sequences from a short, standardized DNA region. Objective: To authenticate P. praeruptorum from its substitutes and adulterants. Materials and Methods: The differential identification of P. praeruptorum and 13 regional substitutes and 23 adulterants was investigated by means of DNA sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA), a bootstrap neighbor-joining (NJ) tree according to Kimura's 2-parameter method was also calculated. Results: The data showed that P. praeruptorum, its substitutes and adulterants could be easily distinguished at the DNA level, while almost all species were well resolved, and successfully identified on the NJ tree. Conclusion: The ITS sequence can be used for the identification of P. praeruptorum and to distinguish it from common substitutes and adulterants.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Tertiary relict disjunctions involve older groups of warm affinity and wide disjunctions, whereas circumboreal distributions in Arctic-Alpine taxa tend to be younger. Arctic-Alpine species are occasionally derived from Tertiary relict groups, but Pyrola species, in particular, are exceptional and they might have occurred multiple times. The aim of this study was to reconstruct the biogeographic history of Pyrola based on a clear phylogenetic analysis and to explore how the genus attained its circumboreal distribution. Estimates of divergence times and ancestral geographical distributions based on neutrally evolving DNA sequence variation were used to develop a spatio-temporal model of colonization patterns for Pyrola. Pyrola originated and most diversification occurred in Asia; North America was reached first by series Scotophyllae in the late Miocene, then by sub-clades of series Pyrola and Ellipticae around the Pliocene. The three circumboreal taxa, P. minor, P. chlorantha and the P. rotundifolia complex, originated independently of one another, with the last two originating in Asia. Three circumboreal Pyrola lineages have arisen independently and at least two of these appear to have originated in Asia. The cool, high-altitude habitats of many Pyrola species and the fact that diversification in the genus coincided with global cooling from the late Miocene onwards fits a hypothesis of pre-adaptation to become circumboreal within this group.

Leaf epidermal characters of 21 species representing four sections of Peucedanum (Apiaceae) were investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The stomata were anisocytic, anomocytic or staurocytic and existed on the abaxial epidermis in all the species examined, and on both surfaces in 12 species. The leaf epidermal cells were usually irregular or polygonal in shape, with anticlinal walls straight to arched, repand or sinuous. Under scanning electron microscopy, the inner margin of the outer stomatal rim was nearly smooth or sinuolate to erose, and the cuticular membrane of the leaf epidermis was striate, ridged, wrinkled or smooth. Few epidermal characters were relatively constant at section level, indicating that the traditional subdivision system for Peucedanum might be unnatural, and needs to be adjusted. Evidence from leaf epidermis, like that from molecular data, suggests that P. terebinthaceum should be separated from Peucedanum. Furthermore, results from epidermal analysis also suggest that P. wulongense should be treated in the same section with P. dissolutum, whereas P. violaceum should be transferred to section Elegantia.

Objectives: Ensuring quality and authenticity of traditional medicines is crucial, particularly for multi-ingredient formulations like commercial Chinese polyherbal preparations (CCPPs). This study aims to authenticate Renshen Jianpi Wan (RSJPW), a classical CCPP composed of 11 prescribed botanical drugs, using DNA metabarcoding to overcome challenges in species-level identification of processed biological ingredients.Methods: We analyzed 56 commercial RSJPW products from different manufacturers and production batches, alongside eight laboratory-prepared reference samples serving as authentic controls. A dual-marker protocol combining ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions was employed, with optimized DNA extraction and PCR protocols to mitigate degradation issues.Results: Detection rates varied across samples, with the highest detection being 10 out of 11 prescribed ingredients in a single sample. The key fungal ingredient Poria cocos (茯苓) was consistently undetectable, likely due to DNA degradation during processing and challenges in extracting fungal DNA from complex matrices. Multiple high-abundance non-prescribed species from Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, and other families were frequently detected as potential contaminants.Conclusions: This study establishes a systematic framework for molecular authentication of complex herbal formulations, providing technical support for reliable identification of botanical drugs. While DNA metabarcoding offers valuable insights into CCPP composition, authentication of heavily processed ingredients remains a significant technical limitation. The integration with complementary analytical methods such as metabolomics could provide more comprehensive quality assessment in future studies, demonstrating the necessity of multi-analytical approaches in ensuring the authenticity of traditional medicine.