RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the character of inorganic elements in Polygonum multiflorum.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The contents of elements such as Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cu, Mn, Mg, Fe, Na, Ni, P, Se, Sr, Ti and Zn in nine P. multiflorum samples were determined by means of ICP-AEC. The results were used for the development of element distrubution diagram. The principal component analysis and one-way ANOVA of SPSS were applied for the study of characteristic elements in P. multiflorum.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The contents of Al, Ca, K, Mg, Sr,Ti in wild P. multiflorum were remarkable higher than those in cultured P. multiflorum, and there was no significant difference between cultured and wild in the other elements. Five principal components which accounted for over 90% of the total variance were extracted from the original data. The analysis results show that Al, B, Ba, Fe, Na, Ni, Ti, Ca and Sr may be the characteristic elements in P. multiflorum. The element distrubution diagram of the sample from Tianyang was remarkable different comparing with the others.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The principal component analysis could be used in data processing in inorganic elements.</p>