Correlation between quality and geographical origins of Leonuri Herba revealed by the qualitative fingerprint profiling and quantitative determination of chemical components.

Background: Leonuri Herba (Yimucao) is a very common Chinese herbs for treating menstrual and maternal diseases for thousands of years in China. However, the herb collected in different origins was easily found in the markets which induce the unstable quality for clinic use. In this study, a comprehensive strategy of using multiple chromatographic analysis and chemometric analysis was firstly investigated for chemical discrimination of Leonuri Herba from different geographical origins.