ABSTRACT
The geo-herbalism of Cangzhu, Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. , was studied for itsstrict quality control. Samples of typical and representative populations of geo-herbal and non-geo herbalorigin were collected, examined and cultivated through field work. Volatile oils from samples of varioushabitats were determined by GC/MS, and their respective bacteriostatic minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)determined. Results of the study showed that both the size of capitulum and cleft on the leaves var-ied greatly even in species of the same population. The main components in their volatile oil also variedgreatly with Maocangzhu (MCZ) contains atractylone (29.54%) and atractylodin (17.82%); that of Nan-cangzhu (NCZ) contains hinesol (61.86%) and β-eudesmol (19.79%), and Baicangzhu (BCZ) cantains βeudesmol or mixture of β-eudesmol and atractylone (over 30%). Volatile oils of speciaes from Luotina,Taibai, and Huanglong showed potent bacteriostatic activity against Streptococcus hemolyticus (SH), com-parable to penicillin or streptomycin. In conclusion, A. lancea is a polymorphic complex greatly influencedby geographic environment and a reasonable proposal is to name them by geo-herbal names such as: MCZas A. lancea var. maoshanensis Hu et Feng; NCZ as A. lancea subsp. luotianensis Hu et Feng; and BCZ asA. lancea var. chinensis (Bunge) Kitam other than independent species as A. chinensis Bunge. It was in-correct to say that MCZ has no atractylone in its volatile oil and therefore differs from A. macrocephalaKoidz. (Baizhu). Inhibitory activity of the volatile oils against SH and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) arealso quite different due to the habitats and imply that the rhizome from Luotian may be used to cure infec-tion diseases caused by SH and PA besides their traditional uses.