Classification of Rhizoma et Radix Notoperygii by HPLC Fingerprints with the Aid of Chemometrics

Abstract

Chromatographic profiles of Rhizoma et Radix Notoperygii (RRN, “Qianghuo” in Chinese), a complex traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), were collected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) at 330 nm. These data profiles were used as fingerprints to investigate quality control classification modeling of the RRN samples. In contrast to the classical methods for discrimination of TCMs, that is, just using common HPLC peaks, all chromatographic profile data were pre-processed by the correlation optimized warping method and polynomial functions; then, these data were submitted as fingerprints (variables) for classification on the basis of sample origin. Chemometrics methods used for calibration modeling and subsequent sample classification-least square support vector machine (LS-SVM), artificial neural network (ANN), and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA); all produced satisfactory calibrations as well as classification results.