ABSTRACT
Objective: To establish a method for simultaneous analysis on the inorganic elements in Tibetan medicine Zuozhudaxi by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectromter (ICP-OES) and compare the inorganic elements in Zuozhudax among different batches and major raw material of mineral drugs. Methods: The samples were digested with nitric solution as the digestion solution. The sample solutions were analyzed by ICP-OES after microwave digestion. The data of correlations, and principal components were analyzed with the SPSS 19.0 software. Results: Twenty-six inorganic elements in Zuozhudaxi were determined. And there were some correlations among the inorganic elements in Zuozhudaxi. The average contents of inorganic elements were as follows: Ca, Hg, and K levels were higher than 1 000 μg/g; P, Mg, Fe, and Sn levels were higher than 100 μg/g; Three main factors were selected by principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA results showed that Al, V, Mo, Ti, Cd, Mn, P, Hg, As, Ba, Mg, Ca, Se, Si, and Na may be the characteristic elements in Tibetan medicine Zuozhudaxi. The contents of Sn, Ti, Ca, Hg, K, P, Fe, and Mg were abundant in ZuoTa, Gypsum Calcite, Calciasinti, Brag-zhun Paste; There were significant differences among these four kinds of mineral materials. ZouTa had the highest contents of these elements. Gypsum Rubrum and Travertine had the most abundant Ca; Hg was the highest in ZuoTa; Brag-zhun Paste contains a lot of K, P, Fe, Mg, and Sn. Conclusion: This experiment provides the evidence for the quality control and safety evaluation of Zuozhudaxi.