ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The color difference meter and electronic nose fingerprint analyzer were introduced to discriminate processed betel nut's different huohou and quantize empirical index during the processing of Chinese medicine.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>By collecting the color's and the smell's characteristic parameters of betel nut and its processed products to set up huohou's math discrimination modules and 90% reference value scale.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>We set up a huohou's math discrimination module and 90% reference value range base on L a*b*, which discrimination coincidence was 100% and 90% reference value range respectively was Shengpin: L* (50.07-55.03), a* (4.136-6.906), b* (6.65-8.82); Chaopin: L* (43.874-47.998), a* (3.816-6.732), b* (3.786-6.558); Jiaopin: L* (38.744-40.616), a* (1.11-3.01), b* (-1.434-0.538). At the same time, we set up a huohou's math discrimination module base on smell's characteristic parameters too.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The betel nut and its processed products' color and smell measurement based on the color difference meter and electronic nose fingerprint analyzer may be feasible, and provides a reference to better study on traditional Chinese medicine theory.</p>