Abstract: Medicinal plants hold significant importance in both traditional and modern healthcare practices, providing a wide range of therapeutic benefits. Among them, Aloe vera is highly valued for its wide range of pharmacological properties and commercial applications. India is a leading producer and exporter of Aloe vera and other herbal plants, particularly within the Asia-Pacific market. Aloe vera is used extensively in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, and nutraceutical industries. However, the authenticity of commercial Aloe vera powder remains a concern due to possible adulteration, especially in processed forms where morphological identification is ineffective. This raises serious issues related to consumer safety, product integrity, and trade reliability. DNA barcoding has emerged as a reliable molecular technique for accurate species identification, even in degraded or powdered samples. In this study, DNA barcoding is applied using matK (Maturase K) gene as a barcode to authenticate 11 Aloe vera powder samples collected from various districts of West Bengal. The results aim to highlight the effectiveness of this approach in detecting adulteration and ensuring product quality in the herbal industry. Keywords: Adulteration, Aloe vera plant powder, DNA barcoding, matK, Phylogenetic tree. International Journal of Biological Innovations http://ijbi.org.in | http://www.gesa.org.in/journals.php https://doi.org/10.46505/IJBI.2025.7210 IJBI 7(2): 186-193 (2025) E-ISSN: 2582-1032 APPLICATION OF DNA BARCODING FOR AUTHENTICATION OF SOME COMMERCIAL ALOE VERA PLANT POWDER USING matK GENE AS A BARCODE Zisan Ahamed , Bhaskar Mallick , A.K. Panigrahi and S.K. Mandal * 1 1 2 1 1 Department of Ecological Studies and Int. Centre for Ecological Engineering University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia (W.B.), India 2 Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia (W.B.), India *Corresponding author: msushil2005@yahoo.co.in Article Info: Research article Received 10.06.2025 Reviewed 20.07.2025 Accepted 05.08.2025 GESA GLOCAL ENVIRONMENT & SOCIAL ASSOCIATION Cite this article as: Ahamed Z., Mallick B., Panigrahi A.K. and Mandal S.K. (2025). Application of DNA Barcoding for authentication of some commercial Aloe vera plant powder using matK gene as a Barcode. International Journal of Biological Innovations. 7(2): 186-193. https://doi.org/10.46505/IJBI.2025.7210 This is an Open Access Article licensed under a Creative Commons license: Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY). It allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the author (s) and the source of publication. 1971; Morgan, 2002). The natural origin of the medicinal plants and historical significance contribute to their widespread use, often without concerns about safety (Yadav and Dixit, 2008; Rao, 2021; Singh, 2023). With increasing global demand, particularly for powdered herbal products, nearly 80% of the global population now depends on plant-based remedies for INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants play a vital and key role in both traditional healing practices and modern healthcare systems, providing remedies for a wide range of health conditions (Miranda, 2021). Several Indian texts including the Vedas document their early use, while the Ayurveda have relied on them for over 5,000 years (Tucakov,