Investigating chemical features of Panax notoginseng based on integrating HPLC fingerprinting and determination of multiconstituents by single reference standard

BACKGROUND: Panax notoginseng is a highly valued medicine and functional food, whose quality is considered to be influenced by the size, botanical parts, and growth environments. METHODS: In this study, a HPLC method integrating fingerprinting and determination of multiconstituents by single reference standard was established and adopted to investigate the chemical profiles and active constituent contents of 215 notoginseng samples with different sizes, from different botanical parts and geographical regions. RESULTS: Chemical differences among main root, branch root, and rotten root were not distinct, while rhizome and fibrous root could be discriminated from other parts. The notoginseng samples from Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture and cities nearby were similar, whereas samples from cities far away were not. The contents of major active constituents in main root did not correlate with the market price. CONCLUSION: This study provided comprehensive chemical evidence for the rational usage of different parts, sizes, and growth regions of notoginseng in practice.