[Studies on the HPLC fingerprint of Radix Codonopsis from different localities].

OBJECTIVE: To compare and analyze Radix Codonopsis from 18 different localities. METHODS: The HPLC was used to detect samples. MATLAB Software and the Computer Aided Similarity Evaluation was used to analyze the fingerprints. Similarity combined with principal component analysis (PCA) were used to compare and analyze Radix Condonopsis in different localities. RESULTS: It was found that processing drugs have effect on the quality of Radix Condonopsis and there are differences in species of Radix Codonopsis. CONCLUSION: This method could be used to compare and analyze the samples of Radix Codonopsis sources.