Chemical Differentiation of Genetically Identified , , and Rhizomes Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Chemometric Analysis.

The rhizome of , which is a herbal medicine used for gastrointestinal therapeutics, has been categorized with rhizome or rhizome based on different therapeutic criteria in Korea, China, and Japan. In the present study, 61 , , and rhizomes were collected from Korea and China and were genetically identified by internal transcribed spacer sequencing analysis. Chromatographic profiles were obtained from high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the methanol and hot-water extracts of rhizomes and chemical differentiation of the rhizomes was carried out using chemometric statistical analyses such as principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis. The results from chromatographic profiles and chemometric analyses demonstrate that rhizomes showed apparent chemical differences from and rhizomes in the methanol extracts. In contrast, no clear distinction was apparent for the hot-water extracts of rhizomes, especially rhizomes. These results indicate that there is a clear chemical difference between and rhizomes; however, the chemical diversity of rhizome shows different chemical relationships with or rhizome, dependent on the chemical features.