Establishment of an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence-based differentiation identification procedure for mei (Prunus mume) and plum (Prunus salicina) and its use to detect adulteration in preserved fruits

This study presents a novel means of detecting the adulteration of mei and plum samples by PCR-based method, as adulteration of raw material has long been known as a serious problem in preserved food industry. Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) was used as a target in the PCR reaction. Sixteen mei (Prunus mume) and eight plum (Prunus salicina) cultivars were selected for ITS1 amplification and alignment. After alignment, we found out that the mei samples contained 18 nucleotide gaps, whereas none in the plums. Multiplex-PCR primer was designed based on this difference in the sequence for simultaneous detection of mei and plum samples in a single reaction. Established multiplex-PCR was also found effective in the detection of 30 commercial preserved fruit products and over 80% of the products were accurately and rapidly been identified. This rapid and accurate molecular method is highly promising for use in the food industry.