ABSTRACT
Objective:To establish an atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the content of eight trace elements of Yu Salvia miltiorrhiza in different growth stages，namely K，Cu，Na，Mg，Fe，Zn，Ca and Mn. Method:Micro-digestion-atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the trace elements in the roots of Yu S. miltiorrhiza. The HPLC method was used to determine the content of active constituents of Yu S. miltiorrhiza. Principal component analysis and correlation analysis were used to evaluate the results. Result:The contents of trace elements in Yu S. miltiorrhiza in different growth periods were significantly different. Cu had a significant positive correlation with the growth period，while Zn，Ca and Mn had significant negative correlations with the growth period. The comprehensive score of Yu S. miltiorrhiza in December was the best. The content of index components was negatively correlated with Mn，Zn and Ca，and positively correlated with Cu，Fe and Na. In soil，Mg，Fe，Ca and Mn were correlated with Zn，Ca and Mn，while Mn was negatively correlated with Cu. The content of K and Mg in the crude drug increased gradually with the change of the growth period，and the overall score of annual Yu S. miltiorrhiza was the best. Conclusion:The change of trace elements in Yu S. miltiorrhiza in different periods has certain regularity. Trace elements in soil have impacts on trace elements in medicinal materials. Trace elements in medicinal materials are closely correlated with index components and quality of medicinal materials.