Comparison on main chemical composition contents in three variants of Gastrodia elata from southwest China / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare and principal component analyze the main chemical composition contents in three variants of Gastrodia elata from southwest of China in order to provide reference for further researches and evaluations on the quality of G. elata. Method Sulfuric acid-phenol method was used to measure the contents of polysaccharides of three variants of G. elata, the contents of free amino acid of three variants of G. elata were estimated by ninhydrin colorimetric method, and the total phenol content of three variants of G. elata were measured by Folin-Ciocaileu colorimetry. HPLC method was applied to determine the contents of gastrodin and hydroxyphenyl methanol of three variants of G. elata from southwest China, and the data was analyzed by principal component analysis. Results The results indicated that the contents of main chemical composition had great difference in different variants of G. elata from southwest China, and the coefficient of variation (CV) of polysaccharide contents was the smallest with 18.025%, and CV of hydroxyphenyl methanol was the biggest with 48.978%. Among the components in this study, the contents of free amino acid, total polyphenol, and gastrodine of G. elata f. glauca from Beichuan in Sichuan province were 2.873%, 0.805%, and 0.862%, respectively, which were all extremely different from the other materials. G. elata f. viridis from Dafang in Guizhou province had the highest content of polysaccharide with the value of 29.225%, which had significantly higher content of polysaccharide than that of G. elata f. glauca from Beichuan and had extremely significantly higher content of polysaccharides than that of the rest. G. elata f. glauca from Zhaotong in Yunnan province had the highest content of hydroxyphenyl methanol, then G. elata f. elata from Guangyuan in Sichaun province, with no significant difference between them. Conclusion There was no significant difference among the regions or variants in main chemical composition contents. The quality of G. elata f. glauca from Beichuan in Sichuan province was the best from the perspective of main chemical composition.