RESUMO
Objective:To clear that the growth period of Astragali Radix (AR) is the main factor causing the traits and chemical differences by analyzing the correlation between commercial traits and chemical characteristics and absolute growth years of AR. Methods: Different grades AR from different origin were collected and divided into two specifications-wild Astragali Radix (WAR) and transplanted Astragali Radix (TAR) according to character description, length and diameter. The growth years distribution of different grades WAR were observed by hand-sections to find its distribution rule. The separation was performed on a Ultimate C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a mixed mobile phase of water and acetonitrile in a gradient mode. The flow rate was 1 mL/min and the wavelength of measurement was 230 nm. A total of 24 batches of the AR were determined. The content of five flavonoids in WAR and TAR were determined. Results: The results showed that the growth year of top grade AR was more than five years, grade I AR was 4-5 years, grade II AR was 3-4 years, grade III and IV AR were 1-3 years. The HPLC-UV specific chromatograms fingerprints of chemical constituents were established from the 24 batches of AR with five characteristic common peaks. Twenty-four batches of samples was assessed by similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of TCM, the similarity of WAR was 0.892-0.994 and TAR was 0.274-0.531. AR were classified as two clusters including WAR and TAR by clustering analysis (CA) and principle component analysis (PCA). The content of total flavonoids of WAR were significantly higher than TAR. Exception the top grade WAR, the content of total flavonoids in WAR was significantly positively correlated with grade. There was no correlation in different grades of TAR. Conclusion: This study provides a scientific basis for the establishment of the grade standard of AR, and lays a foundation for further construction of the quality grade standard of AR.
