title: Comprehensive quality evaluation of Chishao by HPLC.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively evaluate the quality of Chishao.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the experiment of this paper, the fingerprint spectrums of Chishao in all locations are established by RP-HPLC and the model of principle component analysis with the RP-HPLC peak areas is established.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The quality of Chishao in the northern part of China or that made of Paeonia lactiflora is better than that of these in others or that made of other species. The quality of Chishao comes from P. veitchii is in the middle class and is better than those that comes from P. obovata, P. mairei and P. anomala. The results are consistent with traditional views of the quality of this plant. These results indicates that principal component analysis (PCA) can be used as an effective and economic method to evaluate the quality of Chishao, and may be extended to other Chinese medicinal plants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the complex basis of the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the method such as PCA of several chemical components appears to be a more appropriate method for the quality evaluation of TCM in contrast to the determination of a single or few chemicals.
authors.affiliation: Henan Institute of Science and Technology. Xinxiang. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zaiyou
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wenquan
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guifang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Junling
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D029596:Paeonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis