Distinguishing Astragalus mongholicus and Its Planting Soil Samples from Different Regions by ICP-AES

“Daodi herb” enjoys a good reputation for its quality and clinical effects. As one of the most popular daodi herbs, Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao (A. membranaceus) is popularly used for its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune-enhancing properties. In this study, we used inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) technique to investigate the inorganic elements contents in A. mongholicu and its soil samples from daodi area (Shanxi) and non-daodi areas (Inner Mongolia and Gansu). A total of 21 inorganic elements (Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Cu, P, K, Zn, Mn, Ca, Mg, Fe, Se, B, Al, Na, Cr, Ni, Ba, Ti and Sr) were simultaneously determined. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to differentiate A. mongholicu and soil samples from the three main producing areas. It was found that the inorganic element characteristics as well as the uptake and accumulation behavior of the three kinds of samples were significantly different. The high contents of Fe, B, Al, Na, Cr and Ni could be used as a standard in the elements fingerprint to identify daodi and non-daodi A. Mongholicus. As the main effective compounds were closely related to the pharmacodynamics activities, the inter-relationships between selected elements and components could reflect that the quality of A. Mongholicus from Shanxi were superior to others to a certain degree. This finding highlighted the usefulness of ICP-AES elemental analysis and evidenced that the inorganic element profile can be employed to evaluate the genuineness of A. mongholicus.