RESUMEN
The contents of dihydromyricetin and total flavonoids of Hovenia acerba seeds were detected by HPLC-DAD and UV spectrophotometer. And then the correlation between the habitat, phenotype and quality of H. acerba seeds were deeply studied. There were big differences in both appearance and quality among the H. acerba seeds from different places. It showed that the content of dihydromyricetin in H. acerba seeds was 0.41-9.81 mg•g⁻¹, and the content of total flavonoids was 5.52-21.98 mg•g⁻¹. The cluster analysis showed that the quality of H. acerba seeds was related to the habitat. The samples from Jianghan Plain Area showed relatively stable and excellent quality. According to the correlation analysis, there was a significant positive correlation between 1 000-seeds weight, red-black seeds ratio and the content of dihydromyricetin, while the content of total flavonoids was not related to the 1 000-seeds weight and red-black seeds ratio. So the 1 000-seeds weight and red-black seeds ratio could be used as an initial judgment of the quality of H. acerba seeds. As dihydromyricetin and total flavonoids content was not related, both dihydromyricetin and total flavonoids should be taken into account when the quality of H. acerba seeds was studied.