Discrimination of geographical origin for herbal medicine by mineral content analysis with energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer

In this study, the macromineral content ratios of four herbal medicine samples(Saposhnikoviae Radix, Bupleuri Radix, Cnidii Rhizoma, and Astragali Radix) were analyzed to discriminate their geographical origins using an energydispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) technique. EDXRF is a rapid, non-destructive, and multi-elemental analysis technique. Initially, samples of both domestic and imported herbal medicines were pulverized, and then their macromineral contents, including P, S, K, and Ca, were analyzed using EDXRF. For the discrimination of their geographical origins, canonical discriminant analysis was carried out based on the estimated macromineral relative content ratios of the samples. According to the results, the discrimination accuracies were as follows: 93.3% for Saposhnikoviae Radix, 95.7% for Bupleuri Radix, 98.8% for Cnidii Rhizoma, and 87.5% for Astragali Radix. Overall, the results imply that this technique could be used as a standard method, to discriminate their geographical origins between domestic and imported herbal medicines.