RESUMO
Objective To analyze the content and variation rules of 10 constituents in radix, rhizome, and leaf of Rheum officinale at one-, two-, and three-year-old stage, respectively, and provide theoretical guidance for efficient production and quality control of the crud drug. Methods The content of each constituent in R. officinale was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and one factor analysis of variance and multiple comparison were performed by SPSS 24.0. Results HPLC system was established for the determination of 10 components in R. officinale. The linear range was good (r2 > 0.997), RSD of precision, stability, and repeatability were less than 2%, and the recoveries were 96.10%—107.10%, respectively. The content analyses showed that, in the same part, the content of gallic acid decreased significantly year by year or at the 2nd growth years (P 3 > 2 (P 1 > 2 (P radix > leaf (P < 0.05). Conclusion The HPLC based determination of 10 constituents in R. officinale showed that the accumulation profiles of the samples at different years or from different parts varied. For the same parts, the contents of most constituents increased year by year. During the same growth year, the contents of most constituents in radix or rhizome were higher than those in leaf. The radix and rhizome of the three years old samples had the highest contents of main constituents.