Rapid Identification of Multiple Types of Adulterated Ophiocordyceps sinensis by SEM ‐ EDS Based on Micromorphology and Elemental Analysis

Abstract

As a rare and precious traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ophiocordyceps sinensis (O. sinensis) is plagued by various adulterants in the market due to factors such as resource scarcity, which seriously affects medication safety and clinical efficacy. Existing identification methods generally have problems including strong subjectivity, high sample destructiveness, long detection cycle, and complex operation, and it is difficult to identify different types of adulterants using the same method. Innovatively, this study adopted scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) technology to establish a rapid, accurate, and widely applicable method for identifying adulterated O. sinensis. Authentic O. sinensis samples from major producing areas such as Xizang, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Gansu, as well as different types of adulterated samples, were collected. Using SEM-EDS technology, combined with micromorphology and elemental composition, the differences between authentic and adulterated samples were systematically revealed through indicators including morphological differences, mass fraction of characteristic elements, and surface area coverage (SAC) of characteristic elements in surface scanning. This study confirmed that SEM-EDS technology could simultaneously obtain the micromorphological and elemental distribution information of samples, realizing rapid and accurate identification of multiple types of adulterated O. sinensis. The proposed method provided new technical support for the quality control and market supervision of O. sinensis, which could be extended to the adulteration inspection of other precious and delicate TCM.