Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33180770›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

The ITS region provides a reliable DNA barcode for identifying reishi/lingzhi (Ganoderma) from herbal supplements.

Tess Gunnels, Matthew Creswell, Janis McFerrin, Justen B Whittall

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Metabolites · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. The Medicinal MushroomJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Molecular Identification and Characterization of FiveJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  6. Biodiversity data journal · 2022
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Authentication of Three Source Spices ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tess GunnelsDepartment of Biology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, United States of America.
Matthew CreswellOregon's Wild Harvest, Redmond, Oregon, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-5004-7830
Janis McFerrinOregon's Wild Harvest, Redmond, Oregon, United States of America.
Justen B WhittallDepartment of Biology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-9597-9036
Wild Salmon Center · USSanta Clara University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The dietary supplement industry is rapidly growing yet, a recent study revealed that up to 60% of supplements may have substituted ingredients, some of which can be harmful contaminants or additives. When ingredients cannot be verified morphologically or biochemically, DNA barcoding complemented with a molecular phylogenetic analysis can be a powerful method for species authentication. We employed a molecular phylogenetic analysis for species authentication of the commonly used fungal supplement, reishi (Ganoderma lingzhi), by amplifying and sequencing the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) with genus-specific primers. PCR of six powdered samples and one dried sample all sold as G. lucidum representing independent suppliers produced single, strong amplification products in the expected size-range for Ganoderma. Both best-hit BLAST and molecular phylogenetic analyses clearly identified the presence of G. lingzhi DNA in all seven herbal supplements. We detected variation in the ITS sequences among our samples, but all herbal supplement samples fall within a large clade of G. lingzhi ITS sequences. ITS-based phylogenetic analysis is a successful and cost-effective method for DNA-based species authentication that could be used in the herbal supplement industry for this and other fungal and plant species that are otherwise difficult to identify.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsDNA Barcoding, TaxonomicDNA, Ribosomal SpacerGanodermaPhylogenySequence Analysis, DNADNA, Ribosomal Spacer

Identifiers

PMID33180770
PMCPMC7660467
OpenAlexW3104789663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.