DNA internal standard for the quantitative determination of hallucinogenic plants in plant mixtures.
Forensic science international. Genetics December 1, 2007 Pino Luciano, Cinzia M Bertea, Giovanni Temporale et al. 20 citations
A new SYBR Green-based Real-Time PCR assay can quickly and simply quantify hallucinogenic plants in plant mixtures. Using Salvia divinorum as a test plant, the method was tested on seven mixtures ranging from 100% to 0% S. divinorum mixed with non-hallucinogenic Salvia officinalis. Total DNA was extracted with an internal standard of Arabidopsis thaliana DNA, and a new formula for interpreting Real-Time PCR data was developed. The calculated weights from the PCR assay showed an almost perfect correspondence with the actual weights, demonstrating the method's effectiveness for quantitative analysis of a given species in a plant mixture.