Abstract:
Background: Species of Astragalus have been used medicinally for more than a thousand years. Astragalus spinosus ‎(Forssk.) Muschl. extract has been used in the treatment of various diseases. Despite its numerous and varied uses, studies on the genetic makeup of Egyptian A. spinosus are lacking. ‎Therefore, the current study was conducted to generate a molecular fingerprint for this species in two successive growth periods which will be used to recognize, record, and act as a molecular reference for future research.
Method: Astragalus spinosus samples were collected from El-Hawala region of Marsa-Matrouh, Egypt's North Coast and subjected to molecular analyses using the amplified fragment length polymorphism technique (AFLP) with four primer combinations.
Results: Our results revealed minute variations among A. spinosus samples regardless of different collecting periods.
Conclusions: The current work confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the AFLP technique in constructing an accurate genomic picture of the investigated plant.