[Determination of trace elements in radix Paeoniae alba by microwave digestion-ICP-AES].

Microwave digestion technique was used in the decomposition of radix Paeoniae alba samples of different growing area, different growing time and before and after processing, and the contents of K, Ca, Na, Mg, Zn and Fe were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The results of the determination show that radix Paeoniae alba samples are rich in the trace elements. The RSDs of these elements were lower than 4%, and the recovery ratio ranged between 99% and 113%. The results revealed that the analytic method is sensitive and precise. The pattern recognition based on the principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the measured trace elements of different radix Paeoniae alba samples. The PCA was useful in the classification of radix Paeoniae alba. This paper provides scientific basis for deeply studying the relation between the trace elements and the drug effect of radix Paeoniae alba.