Chemical fingerprint technique and its application in the classification and quality assessment of the <i>Gastrodia</i> tuber

Abstract

The Gastrodia tuber and its active component, gastrodin, have many pharmacological effects. In this study, optimized high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) parameters were employed to determine the chemical fingerprints and gastrodin content of nine Gastrodia tuber populations. Based on the degree of similarity of the chemical fingerprints, the nine Gastrodia tuber populations were grouped into one of the three different classes. Class I Gastrodia tubers had the highest content of gastrodin and were thus, regarded as possessing the highest quality. Of the class I Gastrodia tuber samples, those from Yichang, Hubei and Shimen, Hunan, were identified as the “best.” Close relationships were detected among the chemical fingerprints, gastrodin content and place of origin of the Gastrodia tubers. Hence, these findings may be applied in assessing the quality of Gastrodia tubers and in identifying and segregating poor quality Gastrodia populations from those of good quality.

Key words: Chemical fingerprint, chromatographic classification, Gastrodia tuber, gastrodin content, HPLC, quality assessment.