Abstract
Quality of Glycyrrhizae Radix samples collected in China and Mongolia was evaluated by multivariate statistical analysis of liquid chromatography-ion trap-time of flight (LC-IT-TOF) mass spectrometric data. In total, 17 peaks were annotated or identified in the chromatogram obtained from the analysis of a water extract of Glycyrrhizae Radix. The 10 compounds with the greatest degree of variance, (liquiritin apioside, liquiritin, glycyrrhizin, licoricesaponin A3, B2, E2, G2, H2, licorice glycoside E, and a compound having the same composition as glycyrrhizin) were selected as index compounds to create a data matrix for principal component analysis (PCA). Thirty three cultivated or wild Glycyrrhizae Radix samples, collected in China and Mongolia, were grouped characteristically by PCA. In addition, the possibility of the developing resources of Glycyrrhizae Radix in the eastern region of Mongolia is indicated as an alternative to Chinese Glycyrrhizae Radix.
