DNA Barcoding for Paprika Authentication and Quality Assessment on the Moroccan Market

Paprika powder (C. annuum L.) is widely used as
a culinary and therapeutic spice. The present study was conducted
to authenticate eight samples of paprika purchased in
different markets in the Rabat region added with a reference
sample collected in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region using
DNA barcoding. The applicability of the rbcL, psbA-trnH,
psbA-trnH_PA/TH and ITS DNA regions as barcodes was
tested for paprika authentication. For this purpose, DNA
extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing
and phylogenetic trees were performed. PCR amplification
for rbcL, psbA-trnH, psbA-trnH_PA/TH and ITS yielded
amplicons of 200 bp, 750 bp, 700 bp and 200 bp size,
respectively. ITS barcode sequences were of poor quality.
The rbcL barcode was not discriminative, unlike the psbAtrnH,
psbA-trnH _PA regions. Phylogenetic analysis showed
that from the 8 samples of paprika powder, only the one
coming from Bab el Had (B) was not authentic