DNA Barcoding of Ethno-Medicinal Species of Solanaceae

Solanaceae family commonly known as nightshades belongs to the orderSolanales, in the group of Asterids and class of Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). Thefamily is angiospermic i.e., flowering plants, and has highly diversified plants rangingfrom annual to perennial herbs, vines, shrubs, epiphytes, and trees.Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and 2,700 species worldwide that includes several agricultural, horticultural, medicinal plants, spices, and weeds with highly diverse habitats and ecology. The family is cosmopolitan indistribution having found all over the world, including tropical temperate and desertregions except Antarctica, and is greatly abundant in South and Central America. Based on the fossil tomatillos discovered in the Patagonian region, Argentina, scientists reported that the development of Solanaceae started during the Mesozoic Era. The family, Solanaceae is believed to haveoriginated from the Andean/Amazonian region of South America . Theoccurrence is thought to have evolved in a wide range of environments, from rainforests with over three meters of annual rainfall to desert with almost no rainfall and mountain with snow and sub-freezing temperatures .Wettstein believed that the Solanaceae had a polyphyletic origin because oftheir close kinship with several other plant groups . The family wasclosely related to Scrophulariaceae and was divided into the tribes: Nicandreae, Solanaceae, Datureae, Cestreae, and Salpiglossideae by Wettstein . Benthamand Hooker included the family within Polemoniales, however, Hallier considered itas Tubiflorae, which had been derived from Linaceae. Solanaceae is also one of the most economically important families among theangiosperms and contains crops such as Solanum tuberosum (potato), Solanumlycopersicon (tomato), Solanum melongena (eggplant), Solanum betaceum(tomarillo/tree tomato) Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry), Capsicum spp.(pepper) etc. that are important food sources in human civilizations. The family alsoproduces important alkaloids and adds significantly to their medicinal values. Plantssuch as Nicotiana spp., Atropa belladonna, Hyoscyamus, Mandragora, and Daturaspp., etc. are important for the production of drugs in pharmaceutical industries whilesome have ornamental values (such as Petunia, Brugmansia, Cestrum, Solanumpseudocapsicum etc.) in horticultural fields.